1.8, Problem 37: A lidless cardboard box is to be made with a volume of 4 m3
. Find the
dimensions of the box that requires the least amount of cardboard.
Solution: If the dimensions of our box are x, y, and z, then we’re seeking to minimize
A(x, y, z) = xy + 2xz + 2yz subject to the constraint that xyz = 4. Our first step is to make
the first function a function of just 2 variables. From xyz = 4, we see z = 4/xy, and if we substitute
this into A(x, y, z), we obtain a new function A(x, y) = xy + 8/y + 8/x. Since we’re optimizing
something, we want to calculate the critical points, which occur when Ax = Ay = 0 or either Ax
or Ay is undefined. If Ax or Ay is undefined, then x = 0 or y = 0, which means xyz = 4 can’t
hold. So, we calculate when Ax = 0 = Ay. Ax = y − 8/x2 = 0 and Ay = x − 8/y2 = 0. From
these, we obtain x
2y = 8 = xy2
. This forces x = y = 2, which forces z = 1. Calculating second
derivatives and applying the second derivative test, we see that (x, y) = (2, 2) is a local minimum
for A(x, y). To show it’s an absolute minimum, first notice that A(x, y) is defined for all choices
of x and y that are positive (if x and y are arbitrarily large, you can still make z REALLY small
so that xyz = 4 still). Therefore, the domain is NOT a closed and bounded region (it’s neither
closed nor bounded), so you can’t apply the Extreme Value Theorem. However, you can salvage
something: observe what happens to A(x, y) as x → 0, as y → 0, as x → ∞, and y → ∞. In each
of these cases, at least one of the variables must go to ∞, meaning that A(x, y) goes to ∞. Thus,
moving away from (2, 2) forces A(x, y) to increase, and so (2, 2) is an absolute minimum for A(x, y).
Studying effectively is more harder than it sounds, but the best way to get in the zone in finding what things you prefer. Do you like silence or do you like to listen to music? Another thing when looking forward to studying is determining what you want to accomplish in each study session. To ensure you are studying your brain to the max is making flash cards and testing your own limit’s.
