374 Chapter 7 • The Riemann Integral
Adding together inequalities (3) and (4), we have
- E
S(f, Q) - S.(f, Q) < S(f, P) - S.(f, P) + 2
E E
<
2
- E
+
2
[from(l) above]
= E.
Therefore, 'llt: > 0, 3 5 > 0 3 'II partitions Q of [a, b], 11 Qll < 5 ::::} S(f, Q) -
8_(f, Q) < E. •
THE INTEGRAL VIA RIEMANN SUMS
While Darboux sums lead quite effectively to a natural definition of J: f
there are certain advant ages to be gained from a slightly different type of sum
called a "Riemann sum." This type of sum will allow us to characterize the
integral as a certain type of limit. It will also serve as a basis for developing
numerical integration techniques in other courses (not this one).
Definition 7.3.3 A tagged partition P of [a, b] is a partition
P = { xo, x 1 , x2, · · · , Xn} of [a, b] along with a set of "tags" x; E [xi-l, xi] for
n
i = 1, 2, · · · , n. Then the sum R(f, P) = L f(x7)6i is called the Riemann
sum of f over P*.
y
a=xo:
xj
i=l
y =f(x)
x
X1 X2 Xi-I i /i
X2 X;
The shaded area represents R(f, P*)
Figure 7.5