SOLUTION: A gutter is to be made from a piece of sheet metal that is (a) inches wide by bending up pieces of equal width at a right angle. Determine the width (x) of the piece the needs to b

Question 949284: A gutter is to be made from a piece of sheet metal that is (a) inches wide by bending up pieces of equal width at a right angle. Determine the width (x) of the piece the needs to be bent up to maximize the cross section of the gutter.
Answer by macston(5194) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
For a given perimeter, a square has the largest area, so our gutter should have a square cross section. To form a gutter we only require 3 sides, so optimal length would have both sides and bottom=a/3
ANSWER the width of the pieces to bend up on each side is a/3
RELATED QUESTIONS
diff calc:A trapezoidal gutter is to be made from a strip of metal 22 m wide by bending... (answered by solver91311)

a trapezoidal gutter is to be made, from a strip of metal 12m wide by bending up the... (answered by KMST)

A rectangular sheet of aluminum 300 inches long and 12 inches wide is to be made into a... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

A long rectangular sheet of metal 10 in. wide is to be made into a gutter by turning up... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

making a rain gutter a rain gutter is formed by bending up the sides of a 30-inch-wide... (answered by Theo)

A rain gutter is formed by bending up the sides by x inches of a 30-inch wide rectangular (answered by Earlsdon)

A rain gutter is formed by bending up the sides of a 42-inch-wide rectangular metal... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

1)You are designing a rain gutter made from a piece of sheet metal 1 foot by 5 feet. The (answered by Gogonati)

1)You are designing a rain gutter made from a piece of sheet metal 1 foot by 5 feet. The (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)