Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A ranger in Cornwall is protecting a sand dune from walkers. She has surveyed its cross-section and found that it follows the curve . Here is the distance in metres from the sea end, and is the height in metres, for . New grass will be planted in two stages. The part nearest the sea is planted first by one team, and the rest is planted by a second team in the following season. The ranger wants a fence post at the position to mark the boundary. The area of the cross-section to the left of the post must be one quarter of the area of the whole cross-section. Then the two teams share the work in the proportions to . First find the area of the whole cross-section, in square metres. Then find the position of the post, in metres.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The whole area. square metres.
Step 2. The condition. The area from to is . We want it to equal .
Step 3. Solve. , so . In the range this gives , so .
Check. The area to the right of the post is , which is three times .
Answer: the whole cross-section is about square metres and the post stands about metres from the sea end.
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The integral gives a signed area. For the total area, find the zeros of inside the interval, integrate over each piece and add the absolute values of the results.