A farmer wants to fence an area of 6 million square feet in a rectangular field and then divide it in half with a fence parallel to one of the sides of the rectangle. How can he do this so as to minimize the cost of the fence?

dyin2be0ey

dyin2be0ey

Open question

2022-08-22

A farmer wants to fence an area of 6 million square feet in a rectangular field and then divide it in half with a fence parallel to one of the sides of the rectangle. How can he do this so as to minimize the cost of the fence?

Answer & Explanation

Emmy Snow

Emmy Snow

Beginner2022-08-23Added 4 answers

If the rectangular field has notional sides x and y, then it has area:
A ( x ) = x y      [ = 6 10 6 sq ft ]
The length of fencing requiblack, if x is the letter that was arbitrarily assigned to the side to which the dividing fence runs parallel, is:
L ( x ) = 3 x + 2 y
It matters not that the farmer wishes to divide the area into 2 exact smaller areas.
Assuming the cost of the fencing is proportional to the length of fencing requiblack, then:
C ( x ) = α L ( x )
To optimise cost, using the Lagrange Multiplier λ , with the area constraint :
C ( x ) = λ A
L ( x ) = μ A
μ = 3 y = 2 x x = 2 3 y
x y = { 2 3 y 2 6 10 6 sq ft
          { y = 3 10 3 ft x = 2 10 3 ft
So the farmer minimises the cost by fencing-off in the ratio 2:3, either-way

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