Name: ___________________________________________Grade & Section: _________________

Subject: Basic Calculus Teacher: ______________________________ Score: _______________

Lesson : Quarter 3 Week 6 LAS 2

Activity Title : Optimization: Application of Extrema To Word Problems
Learning Target : Solves optimization problems that yield polynomial functions
Reference(s) : (DepEd-BLR), Department of Education-Bureau of Learning Resources.
2016. Basic-Calculus Learner’s Material. Philippines: Lexicon Press Inc.
LAS Writer : Nathaniel A. Galopo

Many real-life situations require us to find a value that best suits our needs. If we are given
several options for the value of a variable x, how do we choose the “best value?” Such a
problem is classified as an optimization problem.
Suggested Steps in Solving Optimization Problems
1. If possible, draw a diagram of the problem.
2. Assign variables to all unknown quantities involved.
3. Specify the objective function. This function must be continuous.
i. Identify the quantity to be maximized or minimized.
ii. Formulate an equation involving the quantity and other quantities. Express the quantity to
be optimized as a function in terms of a single variable. If necessary, use the information
given and relationships between quantities to eliminate some variables.
4. Determine the domain or constraints of the quantity from the physical restrictions of the
problem. The domain must be a closed and bounded interval.
5. Use appropriate theorems involving extrema to solve the problem. Make sure to give the
exact answer (with appropriate units) to the question.

Illustrative Example
A rectangular box is to be made from a piece of cardboard
24 cm long and 9 cm wide by cutting out identical squares from
the four corners and turning up the sides. Find the volume of the
largest rectangular box that can be formed.
Solution.
Step 1: Draw a diagram. (See figure at the right)
Step 2: Let s be the side of the identical squares.
Step 3: The rectangular box that is formed has dimensions in of terms of s : length = 24  2 s ,
width = 9  2 s , and height = s . The volume to be maximized is given by the function
V s   24  2 s 9  2 s s  216 s  66 s 2  4 s 3 .
Step 4: Note that s should be nonnegative and should not be more than half the width of the
cardboard. That is, the domain of V s  is s  0, 4.5 . (The case s = 0 or s = 4.5 does not produce any
box because one of the dimensions would become zero; but to make the interval closed and bounded,
we can think of those cases as degenerate boxes with zero volume).
Step 5: Since V s  is just a polynomial, it is continuous on the closed and bounded interval
0, 4.5 . By applying the Extreme Value Theorem, we have, V s   216  132 s  12s 2  43s  6s  9 and
hence, the only critical number of V is 2 because s  9 is outside the interval 0, 4.5 . We now
compare the functional values at the endpoints and at the critical points: V 0   0, V 2   200, and
V 4.5  0 . Therefore, we see that V attains its maximum at s  2 , and the maximum volume is equal to
V 2   200 cm 3 .

ACTIVITY
Solve the optimization problem below. SHOW ALL NECESSARY SOLUTIONS. This space
An open box is to be made from a 16 cm by 30 cm piece of cardboard by cutting is for the
out squares of equal size from the four corners and bending up the sides. How long QR Code.
should the sides of the squares be to obtain a box with the largest volume?