Physics I / Double Integrals
Practice question · Multiple choice

Rain falls with varying intensity r(x,y)r(x,y) over a city. What does cityr(x,y)dA\iint_{city} r(x,y)\,dA compute?

Hints
  1. Each patch dAdA catches r×dAr \times dA of water. The double integral adds up the patches.
  2. Integrating intensity (depth/time) over area gives volume/time. To get the average, you would divide by the city’s area.
Show the answer

D. The total volume per unit time

Why

A double integral is a weighted total: local rate × patch area, summed to the whole. Divide by dA\iint dA and you get the average intensity, total and average are the two faces of every double integral.

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