Minimizing total fencing for a divided rectangular garden
A gardener wants to enclose a rectangular garden with a total area of . The garden will be divided into two equal rectangular plots by a fence that runs parallel to one pair of sides, down the middle of the garden. The gardener wants to use the least amount of fencing possible for the outer boundary plus the middle divider.
Let be the length (in meters) of the side of the garden parallel to the middle dividing fence, and let be the length (in meters) of the perpendicular side. The total area enclosed is , and the total fencing needed consists of the outer perimeter plus one extra segment of length down the middle (parallel to the sides of length ).
Find the dimensions and that minimize the total length of fencing used, and find the minimum total length of fencing required.
Hint
First write the total fencing in terms of both and : you need two lengths of , three lengths of (two outer sides plus the middle divider), since the divider splits the garden along the side of length . Use the area constraint to eliminate one variable, then minimize the resulting single-variable function on the domain .
Step-by-step solution
The total fencing consists of two sides of length (top and bottom) and three segments of length (left side, right side, and the middle divider), so . The area constraint is , so . Substituting gives , defined for .
Differentiate: . Setting gives , so . Since for , this critical point is a minimum. Then , and the minimum fencing is .
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