Question

I would like to create a rectangular orchid garden that abuts my house so that the house itself forms the northern boundary. the fencing for the southern boundary costs $20 per foot, and the fencing for the east and west sides costs $10 per foot. if i have a budget of $80 for the project, what are the dimensions of the garden with the largest area i can enclose?

Answer 1

The dimensions would be 2 by 2.

We are fencing in 3 sides.  The southern side is twice as expensive as the other two sides; the eastern and western sides together equal as much as the southern side.  We have $80 to spend.  

20x+10x+10x = 80
40x = 80
x = 2

This means that we can have 2 feet on all sides, for a total of 10(2)+10(2)+20(2)= 80.