The Report

(Jack, Shaw, Adrian, Eli)

Type of land Acres of Land Cost Per Acre Total cost

Ranch land for 225 $50 11,250

recreation.

Ranch Land for 75 $500 37,500

Development

Army Land for 25 $200 5,000

Recreation

Army Land for 75 $2,000 150,000

Development

Mine Land for 0 $100 0

Recreation

Mine Land for 150 $1,000 150,000

Development

Total = 353,750

There is 550 acres of land that can be developed or used for recreation. The land comes
from a mine, a ranch, and army land. The amount of acres for recreation is 250 acres and
the amount for development is 300. The total cost for the land is 353,750.

The minimum amount of land to develop is 300 acres so we chose to stick with the
minimum to lower the cost. We are using most of the cheap land minimize the cost. Because
there was one group of people that wanted most of the land for development and the other
group wanted most of the land for recreation we chose to split up the land as equally as we
could.

The Writeup
 In the Meadows or Malls unit, we have covered a lot of different topics. Ranging from solving
linear equations with two or three variables, plane geometry, and 3-space, to matrices and matrix
algebra. The final unit problem asks us to find the cheapest allocation of land for recreation and
development to satisfy the given constraints. There were 6 variables given with the constraints.

● RR is the number of acres of ranch land to be used for recreation

● AR is the number of acres of army land to be used for recreation
● MR is the number of acres of mining land to be used for recreation
● RD is the number of acres of ranch land to be used for development
● AD is the number of acres of army land to be used for development
● MD is the number of acres of mining land to be used for development

We started out by working on linear equations with 2-3 variables and this was important to the
final step because we had to find constraints and constraints are like equations with multiple
variables. The constraints basically tell us what rules there are to the given feasible region. We
solved these equations without graphing by using substitution, elimination, and gaussian
elimination. Another important point when graphing was the independent, dependent, and
inconsistent system of linear equations. This made the final problem easier because we know that
if a system of linear equations is dependent, we know there are infinite solutions so we can know
it’s wrong. And an independent system has only one solution and an inconsistent system means
the points are parallel, so a system has to be independent or order to find the right answer.

The next step towards solving the final problem is finding all of the possible corner points. We
found that when the profit function is linear and the feasible region is a polygon the profit
function will reach its highest point on a corner point of the feasible region. To find our corner
points we were given linear inequalities and had to find all the different combinations. After
finding the combinations, I used the three methods to find my set of corner points. This was an
important step because I learned that any intersection point that satisfies all constraints, will be
corner points of the feasible region.

Another step we covered was finding intersections in 3-space. In this section, we added another
plane on the graph and to the x-y axis. We were given equations, and we then find the set of
combinations of two variables to get one variable intercept. The 3-space work we covered was
shown in the “Trying Out Triples” assignment, and it showed the combination of two axes equal
0, and the other variable is a larger number, therefore showing where the intersection will be. In
the final problem, you have to put in your constraints with your profit equation in order to get
combinations. This is because you have to make sure your intersection point is in the feasible
region by checking the constraints. In the final problem we just checked our 9 constraints and
plugged them into the profit equation. After making sure the combinations fit the profit equation
we got it down to 3 possible combinations.
The last part of this unit was using matrices to express information and solve linear equations.
We started out by going over the basics of matrices and how to use them. When making a matrix
it’s important to keep the X or Y for example, stay consistent throughout your matrix. In
problems, the information would give a constraint on things like if a cookie has icing, no icing,
or chocolate. You then get the total of the matrix and this tells you which constraint would be the
best for the problem. We had a lot of combinations and I messed up when I didn’t organize and
keep my matrix consistent with labeling, so I know that it is very key to keep them nice in order
to get the right answer. In the final problem, we had to take our final combinations and plug them
into the profit equation, and this gave us the final 3 costs that the City of Durango had a problem
with.

1,2,3,6,4,9

The Reflection
Over this semester and during the Meadows or Malls unit, I have learned interesting math
concepts as well as things about myself as a student. With online learning and the hybrid model
this year, math has hands down been the most difficult class. I found that I had a hard time
getting what I needed from the online meetings. I would constantly fall behind on certain
concepts. And I felt that we had such a short amount of time in person that it wasn’t much help.
But, looking back on this unit, I know that moving forward I could speak up and ask for help
when needed. My lack of effort showed in my work and in my grades. But in the last couple of
concepts of this unit, I have started to pick myself back up and get with the math. A lot of the
work in this unit was collaborative. I noticed that I had a hard time collaborating when in online
rooms, but in person, I can get a lot of work done. I would say I have a good balance between
leading and listening.

As for this unit and wrapping it up, I have a few more takeaways. Thinking about all the things
we covered in this unit, I can say that I had a hard time connecting and understanding a lot of it.
The online teaching methods we’re sometimes hard to follow along. But, I have liked how
recently, whenever I understand something, I get much more satisfaction out of completing the
work. Reflecting on the work I did, I can say that I am not proud of a lot it. I either didn’t do the
work or just gave half the effort most of the time. This was due to my lack of enthusiasm and
interest in the work, but it affected me pretty negatively with my grades and my knowledge. For
me personally, I know that I learn best in-person, with interactive teaching. I like having visuals
for the work, and having help right there ready when you need them.