The document discusses methods for approximating and calculating the area of plane regions. It introduces sigma notation for writing sums and explores using rectangles to approximate the area of a region bounded by a graph and the x-axis. Upper and lower sums are defined by using maximum and minimum heights of a function over subintervals, and the area is defined as the limit of the Riemann sums as the subintervals approach zero width. Examples demonstrate finding upper and lower sums and calculating the exact area of a region using limits.