- Break that bulk quantity into manageable pieces.
- Estimate the size of each piece. This will typically take the form $f(x) \Delta x$ for some function of $x$.
- Add up the pieces. The whole is the sum of the parts!
- Take a limit as you slice things finer and finer: $$ \text{Total} = \lim_{n \to \infty} \sum_{i=1}^n f(x_i^*) \Delta x.$$
- Recognize that this is an integral: $$\text{Total} = \int_a^b f(x)\, dx.$$
- Evaluate the integral using the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
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