Math 154 Spring 2026
Probability Theory
The computation of the volumes of spheres can be done without actually doing any integrals.
We only need to know the recusion that B(n) = S(n-1)/n and S(n)=2π B(n-1) and the induction
assumption S(0)=2 and B(0)=1. The first recursion follows from integrating the sphere volume
up (make shells). The second is an Archimedes trick: the cylinder surface area enclosing a
sphere is the same than the surface area because there is an area preserving map from the
sphere to the cylinder (project from the center ball which is in the case n=2 the 1-ball
(the z axes in the case of Archimedes).