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you have 36 feet of wire to enclose 3 sides of a garden. one side is a wall that needs no fence. the vertical sides (labeled x) each require 5 strands of wire. the horizontal side (labeled y) requires 3 strands of wire. what values for x and y will create a fence that encloses the maximum area of garden?

User Ziwei
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Final answer:

To create a fence that encloses the maximum area of the garden, we need to find the values of x and y. Using the given information and equations, we can solve for x and y. The values that maximize the area are x = 1.8 feet and y = 4.4 feet.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the values of x and y that will create a fence that encloses the maximum area of the garden, we need to use the given information. We have 36 feet of wire to enclose 3 sides of the garden, and each vertical side requires 5 strands of wire while the horizontal side requires 3 strands of wire. Let's assume the length of each vertical side is x and the length of the horizontal side is y.

From the information given, we can form the equation: 5x + 5x + 3y = 36. Simplifying this equation, we get 10x + 3y = 36.

Since we want to maximize the area of the garden, we can use the formula for the area of a rectangle: A = xy. We need to express y in terms of x.

Let's solve the equation 10x + 3y = 36 for y: 3y = 36 - 10x. Dividing both sides by 3, we get y = (36 - 10x)/3.

Substituting this expression for y into the area formula, we have A = x((36 - 10x)/3). To find the values of x and y that maximize the area, we can graph the equation and find the maximum point, or we can take the derivative with respect to x and set it equal to 0.

Taking the derivative of A with respect to x, we get dA/dx = (36 - 20x)/3.

Setting this equal to 0, we have (36 - 20x)/3 = 0.

Solving for x, we find x = 36/20

= 1.8.

Plugging this value back into the equation for y, we get y = (36 - 10(1.8))/3

= 4.4.

Therefore, the values of x and y that will create a fence that encloses the maximum area of the garden are x = 1.8 feet and y = 4.4 feet.

User GoPro
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