He wishes to enclose a rectangular pen subdivided into two regions by a section of fence down the middle, parallel to one side of the rectangle. Express the area enclosed by the pen as a function of its width, x.
Please explain and show ALL work. i honestly am clueless.
Thank you very much!
2007-08-27 08:38:32 · 2 answers · asked by Elizabeth 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
There's only one thing that is unclear; is the section of fence down the middle meant to be parallel to the width (side of length x) or parallel to the length? I would envision it as being parallel to the width. In that case, you must use lengths of fence equal to x three times: to create the two "width" sides of length x, and to create the dividing wall. Therefore, you are left with (1500 - 3x) fencing material to create the two "length" sides, and so each one would have a length of (1500 - 3x) / 2 = 750 - 1.5x. The area will be the product of the width and the length, and the width is just x, so the area is x(750 - 1.5x) = 750x - 1.5x^2.
If the dividing wall is supposed to be oriented along the length instead, you only use 2x for the width sides, so you have 1500 - 2x to make three "length" direction walls, and each one will be 500 - 0.6x long, making the area 500x - 0.6x^2.
2007-08-28 10:56:00 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As you've stated the problem, the "1500 feet" and "a section of fence down the middle" are extraneous facts. The area A
is simply the product of the width x and the length L, so A = xL.
2007-08-27 16:08:34 · answer #2 · answered by Tony 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋