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A packaging company will only accept packages for shipment if the sum of the height and the perimeter of the base is not more than 240 inches

i. Draw a diagram of a box with a square base and label the edges with your choice of variables.
ii. Write a function to represent the volume of the box, given that the sum of the height and perimeter of the base is equal to 240 inches
iii. What dimensions (length, width, and height) of such a box will give the maximum volume?
iv. What is the maximum volume?

1 Answer

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Final answer:

i. A diagram of the box with a square base, labeled with variables, would depict a square base with edges labeled as a, and the height labeled as h.

ii. The function representing the volume of the box with the sum of the height and perimeter of the base equaling 240 inches is V(a, h) = a^2 * h, subject to the constraint 4a + h = 240.

iii. To achieve the maximum volume, the dimensions (length, width, and height) of the box that satisfy the constraint 4a + h = 240 and optimize the volume function V(a, h) = a^2 * h need to be determined.

iv. The maximum volume attainable under the given constraint is 120^3 cubic inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

i. The diagram represents a box with a square base, where the edges of the square base are labeled as 'a,' and the height of the box is denoted by 'h.'

ii. The volume V(a, h) of the box with a square base is given by the formula V(a, h) = a^2 * h, where 'a' represents the length of each side of the square base, and 'h' denotes the height of the box. Subject to the constraint that the sum of the height and perimeter of the base is 240 inches, the equation becomes 4a + h = 240.

iii. To maximize the volume, we need to optimize the function V(a, h) = a^2 * h while satisfying the constraint 4a + h = 240. By solving for 'h' in terms of 'a' from the constraint equation (h = 240 - 4a) and substituting it into the volume equation, we obtain V(a) = a^2 * (240 - 4a). Differentiating V(a) with respect to 'a' and setting it to zero (dV/da = 0) allows us to find the critical point, giving 'a' as 60 inches.

iv. Substituting 'a = 60' into the volume equation V(a) = a^2 * (240 - 4a) yields the maximum volume of the box: V_max = 60^2 * (240 - 4 * 60) = 120^3 cubic inches. Therefore, a box with side lengths of 60 inches and a height of 120 inches would result in the maximum volume within the specified constraints

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