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A track 400 m in periphery is to be laid out on the practice field. Each semicircular end must have a radius of at least 20 m, and each straight section must be at least 100 m. How should the track be laid out so that it encompasses the least area

User Shiblon
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1 Answer

9 votes

Answer:

r = 31.8

Step-by-step explanation:

To start with, we make the following assumptions. Let

r be the radius of semicircular end

l be the length of straight section

a be the area inside track, then

p = 2πr + 2l = 400

a = πr² + 2rl

2πr + 2l = 400

l = 200 - πr, substituting for l in area,

a = πr² + 2r(200 - πr)

a = πr² + 400r - 2πr²

a = 400r - πr²

In order to find our minimum area, we differentiate with respect to r and then it equate to zero

da/dr = 400 - 2πr = 0

r = 200/π, substituting for r in equation for l,

l = 200 - πr

l = 0 m

And since this is not possible, l must be 100 m (the minimum), and

r = (200 - 100)/π

r = 100/π = 31.8 m

User James Lim
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