MHB Maximizing the area of a triangle

[markosheehan]

View attachment 5904

can some1 show me how to do this the answer to the first part is √x²+√16/x²

 

[HallsofIvy]

Re: calculus

"

can some1 show me how to do this the answer to the first part is √x²+√16/x²

"The first part" of what? The only problem that is really clear is #26 where the first part asks you to "find the coordinates of point C". The answer to that is certainly not "√x²+√16/x²"!

So you are referring to #25? You are given the graph of y= x^2 and three points on that graph, (-2, 4), (4, 16), and (x, x^2). The lines connecting those points are drawn to form a triangle. The "first part" of #25 asks you to Find the value of x such that this triangle has maximum area.

Ok, what formulas do you know for calculating the area of a triangle? Which of those could you use here?

 

[MarkFL]

I have edited the thread title to briefly describe the problem. A thread title of "calculus" for a thread posted in our "Calculus" forum gives no additional information about the question being asked.

When attaching images of problems, it is better to hold your camera so that the lens is parallel to the sheet of paper and then crop the image so that only the problem about which you are asking is in the image. This makes it easier for our helpers to interpret the image and the question being asked.

Also, please refrain from "textspeak" in the body of your post. Go ahead and type "someone" instead of "some1" for improved readability (it's only 2 additional keystrokes and looks so much better). :D

I don't mean to be a grumpy ol' meanie, it's just that these are things that help make MHB more useful for everyone.

 

[markosheehan]

ok and ye the back of the book shows the answers and it must be wrong i worked it out anyway