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Kieran has 21 metres of fencing - Leaving Cert Mathematics - Question 8 - 2016

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Kieran has 21 metres of fencing. He wants to enclose a vegetable garden in a rectangular shape as shown. (a) By writing an expression for the perimeter of the veget... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Kieran has 21 metres of fencing - Leaving Cert Mathematics - Question 8 - 2016

Step 1

(a) By writing an expression for the perimeter of the vegetable garden in terms of x (length in metres) and y (width in metres), show that $y = 10 - 5 - x$.

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Answer

The perimeter P of a rectangle is given by the formula:

P=2x+2yP = 2x + 2y

Given that Kieran has 21 metres of fencing, we have:

2x+2y=212x + 2y = 21

Dividing the entire equation by 2 gives:

x+y=10.5x + y = 10.5

Rearranging the equation for y gives:

y=10.5xy = 10.5 - x

Step 2

(b) (i) Complete the table below to show the values of y and A (the area of the garden) for each given value of x.

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Answer

To compute the area A of the rectangle, we can use the formula:

A=xyA = xy

Substituting the expression for y into this, we have:

A=x(10.5x)A = x(10.5 - x)

Now we can calculate y and A for the values of x from 0 to 10:

  • For x = 0: y = 10.5, A = 0
  • For x = 1: y = 9.5, A = 9.5
  • For x = 2: y = 8.5, A = 17
  • For x = 3: y = 7.5, A = 22.5
  • For x = 4: y = 6.5, A = 26
  • For x = 5: y = 5.5, A = 27.5
  • For x = 6: y = 4.5, A = 27
  • For x = 7: y = 3.5, A = 24.5
  • For x = 8: y = 2.5, A = 20
  • For x = 9: y = 1.5, A = 13.5
  • For x = 10: y = 0.5, A = 5

Thus, we get the complete table.

Step 3

(b) (ii) Use the values of x and A from the table to plot the graph of A on the grid below.

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Answer

To plot the graph of A against x, plot the points from the table:

  • (0, 0)
  • (1, 9.5)
  • (2, 17)
  • (3, 22.5)
  • (4, 26)
  • (5, 27.5)
  • (6, 27)
  • (7, 24.5)
  • (8, 20)
  • (9, 13.5)
  • (10, 5)

Join the points smoothly to form a parabolic curve.

Step 4

(c) Use your graph to estimate the maximum value of A and write the corresponding length and width.

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Answer

From the graph, the maximum value of A appears to be approximately 27.5 m² at x = 5 m.

Thus, the corresponding values are:

  • Maximum area: 27.5 m²
  • Length: 5 m
  • Width: 5 m

Step 5

(d) (i) Show that the area of the rectangle can be written as $A = 10.5x - x²$.

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Answer

Using the previous equation for A:

A=x(10.5x)A = x(10.5 - x)

Distributing x yields:

A=10.5xx2A = 10.5x - x^2

Step 6

(d) (ii) Find $\frac{dA}{dx}$.

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Answer

To find the derivative of A, we differentiate:

dAdx=10.52x\frac{dA}{dx} = 10.5 - 2x

Step 7

(d) (iii) Hence, find the value of x which will give the maximum area.

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Answer

To find the critical points, set the derivative equal to zero:

10.52x=010.5 - 2x = 0

Solving for x gives:

x=5.25x = 5.25

Step 8

(d) (iv) Find this maximum area.

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Answer

Substituting x=5.25x = 5.25 back into the equation for A:

A=10.5(5.25)(5.25)2A = 10.5(5.25) - (5.25)^2

Calculating this yields:

A=27.5625extm2A = 27.5625 ext{ m²}

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