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| Question 1026674:  Pls, help me with this question
 A farmer has 120m of fencing with which to enclose a rectangular sheep-pen, using a wall for one side. Find the maximum area that he can enclose
 Answer by mathmate(429)
      (Show Source): 
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Question:
 Pls, help me with this question
 A farmer has 120m of fencing with which to enclose a rectangular sheep-pen, using a wall for one side. Find the maximum area that he can enclose
 
 Solution:
 This is a calculus question, but there does not seem to be a category for it.
 The perimeter of the pen is 120=w+w+(120-2w), where w is the width and 120-w is the length opposite the wall.
 The corresponding area is A(w)=w(120-2w)=120w-2w^2.
 By completing squares,
 A(w)=-2(w-30)^2+1800
 We can see that when the first term vanishes, i.e. w=30, A(w) will be at its maximum.
 So the maximum area is
 A(30)=120*30-2*30^2=900, or w=30, L=120-2w=60.
 Erratum:
 The last line should read:
 A(30)=120*30-2*30^2=3600-1800=1800, or w=30, L=120-2w=60, and area=1800
  
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