We already mentioned that slicing a solid with known cross-section is like slicing a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. We could also think of it like we are slicing carrots for pot roast or potato slices for potatoes au gratin. Hungry for more?
When asked to find the volume of one of these solids, we are given a few things to start. We'll be told what the base of the solid is, which way it's being sliced,
and what the slices look like.
Sample Problem
We can call this one the stick of butter example. Let R be the region enclosed by the x-axis, the graph y = x2, and the line x = 4. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid whose base is Rand whose slices perpendicular to the x-axis are squares.
Answer.
Let's use our attack plan.
1) First we have to understand what the solid is.
The region R looks like this:

Let's turn R on its side to make it easier to think of as the base of the solid.
We're told that if the solid is sliced perpendicular to the x-axis the slices are squares. Since the base of the solid stretches from the x-axis up to the graph y = x2, the side-length of the slice at position x is y = x2. This means if we take slices near x = 0, they'll be tiny. If we take slices near x = 4, they'll be much bigger.
2) Now that we understand what the solid looks like, we need to slice it and find the approximate volume of a slice. We've already sliced it, and we know that each slice is a square with side-length y = x2. Each square has a tiny little bit of thickness Δ x.

To find the volume of the slice we multiply the area of the square by the thickness of the slice to get
(x2)2 Δ x.
3) The variable x goes from 0 to 4 within this solid. When we add the volumes of all the slices and take the limit as the number of slices approaches ∞, we find the volume of the solid is

Be Careful:
We recommend drawing pictures. Lots of them. Don't be stingy. You'll use less paper and time drawing a couple extra images than you would getting the wrong answer and having to start all over. At minimum, three of them:
1) the region that forms the base of the solid

2) the region with at least one slice sitting on it

3) a slice all by itself

The best way to get better at these is to practice. Feel free to have your favorite 3-D sweet treat while you go through these exercises.
Practice:
Let R be the region enclosed by the x-axis, the graph y = x2, and the line x = 4. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid whose base is R
and
whose slices perpendicular to the x-axis are semi-circles.
Answer
The region R is the same as in the example:

This solid is like the one in the example except that instead of the slices being squares, they're semicircles. The slice at position x is a semi-circle with diameter
y = x2 and thickness Δ x.
This solid really looks like a loaf of French bread. Since the diameter of a slice is x2 the radius is
. The volume of a slice is the area of the semi-circle (half the area of a circle) multiplied by the thickness, or

The variable x goes from 0 to 4 in this region, so when we take the integral we get

Let R be the region enclosed by the x-axis, the graph y = x2, and the line x = 4. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid whose base is R
and
whose slices perpendicular to the y-axis are squares.
Answer
The region R is the same as in the example:

Now we're slicing the other way. It's important to get the right base region. R is this:

Not this:

When we cut a slice perpendicular to the y-axis, the slice will look like this:

Slices closer to the x-axis will be bigger and slices farther from the x-axis will be smaller. The whole solid will look like this:

Since the slice at position y is a square, its volume will be the area of the square multiplied by its thickness Δ y. The length of the side of the square is

The volume of the slice is

Since y goes from 0 to 42 = 16 in the region R, these are the limits of integration for the integral. The volume of the solid is

Let R be the region enclosed by the x-axis, the graph y = x2, and the line x = 4. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid whose base is R
and
whose slices perpendicular to the y-axis are equilateral triangles.
Answer
The region R is the same as in the example:

We're slicing perpendicular to the y-axis again. The base of a slice still has length
, but now the slice is an equilateral triangle instead of a square. Our volume looks like a Toblerone.
The area of an equilateral triangle with side-length s is

so the volume of a slice is

The variable y goes from 0 to 16 in the base region R, so the volume of the solid is

Let R be the region bounded by y = x and y = x2. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the y-axis are semi-circles
Answer
R is this region:

The slices perpendicular to the y-axis are semi-circles, so they look like this:

The whole solid looks like this:

The diameter of the semicircular slice at position y is the distance from the line y = x to the curve y = x2, which is
.
This means the radius of the semi-circle is

The area of the semi-circle is

so the volume of the slice is

The variable y goes from 0 to 1 in the region R, so the volume of the entire solid is

Let R be the region bounded by y = x and y = x2. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the y-axis are squares
Answer
R is this region:

We're slicing the same way as in (1), but now instead of the slice at position y being a semi-circle with diameter
, it's a square with side-length
.
The volume of the slice at position y is

Since y still goes from 0 to 1, the volume of the whole solid is

Let R be the region bounded by y = x and y = x2. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the x-axis are equilateral triangles
Answer
R is this region:

Now we're slicing the other direction, perpendicular to the x-axis. The slices are equilateral triangles. The side length of the equilateral triangle at position x is the distance from the curve y = x2 to the line y = x. This distance is
x – x2., The area of the equilateral triangle is

so the volume of the slice is

The variable x moves from 0 to 1 in the region R, so the volume of the whole solid is

Let R be the region bounded by x2 + y2 = 1. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the y-axis are semi-circles
Answer
The region R is the unit circle:

If slices perpendicular to the y-axis are semi-circles, we have another loaf of French bread. The radius of the semi-circle at height y is x, where x is the distance from the line x = 0 to the curve x2 + y2 = 1.
Rearranging the equation, we get

The area of the semi-circle at height y is

so the volume of the slice is

The variable y goes from -1 to 1 in the region R, so the volume of the solid is

Alternately, since the solid is symmetric we could find the volume of its upper half and then multiply by 2. his gives us the expression

Let R be the region bounded by x2 + y2 = 1. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the x-axis are equilateral triangles.
Answer
The region R is the unit circle:

For this solid we slice perpendicular to the x-axis and get equilateral triangles. The triangle at position x has side-length 2y where
:
This means the area of the triangle is

The volume of the slice is

and the volume of the entire solid is

Alternately, since the solid is symmetric we could find the area of half of it and then multiply by 2.
In this case, we get the expression

Let R be the region bounded by x2 + y2 = 1. Write an integral expression for the volume of the solid with base R
whose slices perpendicular to the x-axis are squares
Answer
The region R is the unit circle:

For this solid we slice perpendicular to the x-axis and get squares. The slice at position x has side-length
.
The volume of this slice is

The volume of the entire solid is

We could also find the volume by calculating the volume of half the solid and then multiplying by 2.
Then we get the integral expression

For symmetric objects like the one above, it's easier to find the volume by finding the volume of half the solid and then multiplying by 2. It's pretty likely you'll be asked to finish the problem by evaluating the integral, and it's easier to evaluate an integral if one of the endpoints is 0.