As a farmer, suppose you want to fence off a rectangular fieldthat borders a river. You wish to find out the dimensions of thefield that occupies the largest area, if you have 1200 feet offencing. Remember that a square maximizes area, so use a square inyour work.
- Draw several diagrams to express the situation and calculatethe area for each configuration, then estimate the dimension oflargest possible field.
- Find the function that models the area in terms of one of itssides.
- Find the point that maximizes the function you found in thesecond bulleted item.
- Calculate the area of the field at the point you found in thethird bulleted item, and then compare your results with the resultsin the first bulleted item.
