A square based, box shaped shipping crate is designed to have a volume of 16 cubic feet. The material used to make the base costs twice as much as the material in the sides, and the material used to make the top costs half as much as the material in the sides. What are the dimensions of the crate that minimize the cost of materials?

Since the cost is unknown, can I make an assumption, say, that the base is $2/square foot, the sides are $1/square foot, and the top is $0.50/square foot?

Question

A square based, box shaped shipping crate is designed to have a volume of 16 cubic feet.  The material used to make the base costs twice as much as the material in the sides, and the material used to make the top costs half as much as the material in the sides.  What are the dimensions of the crate that minimize the cost of materials?

Since the cost is unknown, can I make an assumption, say, that the base is $2/square foot, the sides are $1/square foot, and the top is $0.50/square foot?

anonymous · Answer

yes, but you dont really need the assumption

anonymous · Answer

that is, you dont need the $ sign, just use numbers :)