Name: ______________________________ Period: _______

Gutter Problem

Unit 3 Quadratic Functions

You have been hired to determine the maximum volume possible for a rain gutter. Since the length of the gutter changes for every house, your concern is with the cross-sectional area of the gutter. Your company, Gutters Galore, receives pieces of aluminum that are 11 wide. Your task is to find the maximum area that can be enclosed using that width of aluminum. For example, you could make the gutters 2 tall and 7 wide, for a total area of 14 in2. 1. Draw your gutter model below. You may use a regular sheet of paper (which is 11 long) to experiment before you draw your model.

How tall are the sides of your gutter?

How wide is your gutter?

What is the cross-sectional area of your gutter?

2. Do you think that your gutter model holds the greatest volume of water possible? How can you be sure?

3. Experiment with several different side heights for the gutter model and determine the corresponding area for each side height. Side length 2 in. Width 7 in. Area 2 in. x 7 in. = 14 in2

Graph the data you just placed in the table: area

side wall height

4. Now consider if the side of the gutter was x inches tall. How wide would the gutter be?

What would the area of the gutter be?

Graph the function you just wrote for the area of the gutter in terms of the side wall height (x) on the graph above (use a different color and label both graphs).

5. What does the highest point of the graph represent?

6. What does either point where the graph crosses the x axis represent?