Dear Calculus Students:
I let my barn repairs go for too long, and now I find myself in a predicament. Although the barn is structurally sound and the roof is fine, the siding is rotting. I need some help deciding on the best way to proceed, and your enterprising and resourceful professor referred me to you.
Mr. Haney has offered to sell me aluminum siding that is either three feet, two and a half feet, or one and a half feet wide. I can order the siding in any length I need, and the cost is $4.25 per square foot. Since I can get Eb from over at the Douglas place to do the labor for next to nothing, my only real expense is the siding from Mr. Haney. I want to do the entire barn in the same width siding, so for each width, I need to know how much siding I should order and how much it will cost.
I know that there will be some waste material due to the shape of the barn. Being the environmentally aware individual that I am, I'd like to know how much siding will be wasted, and I'd also be interested in any suggestions you have for what I can with with the leftovers.
I've included a sketch of the barn. Mr. Haney has only guaranteed his prices through May 2, so I would greatly appreciate your report by then.
http://www2.wheatonma.edu/academic/academicdept/MathCS/faculty/tratliff/writing/calculus-I/barn.gif
"The Broad Side of the Barn" is a popular idiom that means something is very easy or obvious. It is often used in a sarcastic manner to imply that something is so easy that it would be impossible to miss, like the broad side of a barn.
The origin of this phrase is unclear, but it is believed to have originated in the United States in the early 1900s. It may have been derived from the idea that hitting the broad side of a barn with a projectile would be an easy target due to its large size.
No, the phrase is purely idiomatic and does not have any scientific basis. However, it may have originated from the concept of projectile motion and the idea that hitting a large target, like the broad side of a barn, would be easier than hitting a smaller target.
The phrase is commonly used in everyday language to express that something is very easy or obvious. For example, "It's as easy as hitting the broad side of a barn" or "You couldn't miss it if it was the broad side of a barn". It can also be used sarcastically to imply that something is so easy that it would be impossible to miss.
Yes, there are several similar idioms that convey a similar meaning, such as "as easy as pie", "a piece of cake", or "shooting fish in a barrel". These phrases all imply that something is very easy to accomplish or achieve.