Open top box. Thomas is going to make an open top box by cutting equal squares from the four corners of an 11in by 14 in shhet of cardboard and folding up the sides. If the area of the base is to be 80 square inches, then what side square should be cut from each corner?
2006-10-05 11:45:15 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Let x be the side of the square that's cut from each corner.
Then, after cutting, the area of the base is
(14-2x)(11-2x) = 80.
Multiply it out:
154-50x + 4x^2 = 80.
Rearrange:
4x^2-50x+74=0
Divide by 2:
2x^2-25x+37=0.
Use the quadratic formula, and you get x=10.78, or x=1.71. The first value doesn't make sense, because it will give you negative dimensions.
2006-10-05 11:49:00 · answer #1 · answered by James L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK, good lord, stop cheating.
2006-10-05 18:52:20 · answer #2 · answered by t_o_w_e_r_i_n_g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋