Question

Chris wants to make an enclosed rectangular area for a mulch pile. She wants to make the enclosure in such a way as to use a corner of her back yard. She also wants it to be twice as long as it is wide. Since the yard is already fenced, she simply needs to construct two sides of the mulch pile enclosure. She has only 15 feet of material available. Find the dimensions of the enclosure that will produce the maximum area

Answer 1

The enclosure having the maximum area would be square. Since Chris wants the aspect ratio to be 2:1, she will use 2/3 of the fence (10 ft) for the long side and 1/3 of the fence (5 ft) for the short side.

The enclosure having the maximum area meeting Chris's requirement is 10 ft × 5 ft.