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An integral adds up contributions of a function across a domain. For a continuous function on , the Riemann integral is the common limit of its Riemann sums as the largest subinterval width tends to zero:Each product combines a value with the width over which it acts. When is nonnegative, the result is the area beneath its graph; values below the horizontal axis contribute with the opposite sign. The signed area under a graph can therefore vanish even when the graph encloses nonzero geometric area.
For a velocity on , use equal time steps. The left and right Riemann sums areBecause the function is increasing, they bound the integral. With six steps they give and ; with sixty steps they give and . Both approach the same total, . This is accumulation made exact by refining finite measurements.
An integral retains units: velocity times time gives displacement, and a probability density function integrated over an interval gives a probability. Weighting a density by a function gives its expectation. The same operation serves different subjects because it expresses a common pattern, value multiplied by extent, then accumulated.
The fundamental theorem of calculus often evaluates a definite integral by finding an antiderivative, but a finite sum or a numerical approximation is still useful when no convenient antiderivative is available. An indefinite integral denotes a family of antiderivatives; a definite integral denotes an accumulated value between specified endpoints. More general constructions, including Lebesgue integration, extend the class of functions and domains that can be handled.
