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What is the geometric shape of the horizontal cross-sections of the solid region bounded by z=x2+y2z=x^2+y^2 and z=4z=4?

The horizontal cross-sections are disks. At any fixed height zz, the intersection with the paraboloid z=x2+y2z=x^2+y^2 creates a circular disk described by x2+y2≤zx^2 + y^2 \le z. The radius of this disk depends on the height zz and is given by r=zr = \sqrt{z}.

Conditions

  • The solid region is bounded below by z=x2+y2z=x^2+y^2 and above by z=4z=4.
  • The cross-sections are taken horizontally (perpendicular to the z-axis).

Reasoning, step by step

  1. Consider a horizontal cutting plane at a fixed height zz between 00 and 44.
  2. Identify the boundary of the solid at this height: the paraboloid equation z=x2+y2z = x^2+y^2.
  3. Rearrange the equation to see the relationship between xx and yy: x2+y2=zx^2+y^2 = z.
  4. Recognize that x2+y2≤zx^2+y^2 \le z describes the interior of a circle with radius z\sqrt{z}.
  5. Conclude that the cross-section is a disk whose radius increases as zz increases.

Example

The script states: 'An animation shows a horizontal cutting plane moving up from the vertex at z=0z=0 to the top cap at z=4z=4, revealing that each cross-section is a disk whose radius depends on the current height zz.'

Common misconceptions

  • Believing the cross-sections are squares or rectangles.
  • Assuming the radius of the cross-section is constant throughout the solid.
  • Confusing the cross-section with the projection onto the xy-plane (which is a disk of radius 2).

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