16. Peter is building a fenced in area for his dog. He has 250 feet (ft.) of fencing to create an area for his dog. He is building it next to his house so he will only need fencing for 3 sides of the rectangular area. The diagram shows the width, d, of the area Peter is building for his dog.

The function A(d)=d(250−2d) represents the area that will be fenced in for Peter's dog, in square feet.

Complete the statements.

(2 points)
A reasonable scale for the horizontal axis of the function A(d)=d(250−2d) is
2 ft
, A reasonable scale for the vertical axis of the function A(d)=d(250−2d) is
500 sq ft

1 answer

To complete the statements regarding the reasonable scales for the horizontal and vertical axes based on the function \( A(d) = d(250 - 2d) \):

  1. Horizontal Axis Scale: The variable \( d \) represents the width of the fenced area. Since Peter has 250 feet of fencing and needs to account for the 2 widths (since he needs fencing on 2 sides), the maximum width \( d \) can be is 125 feet (because \( 250 - 2d \geq 0 \) leads to \( d \leq 125 \)). A reasonable scale for the horizontal axis could indeed be 2 ft, allowing for clear representation of the width as it increases from 0 to 125 feet.

  2. Vertical Axis Scale: The area \( A(d) \) is given in square feet. To find the maximum area, we can complete the square for the function \( A(d) = d(250 - 2d) \). This is a quadratic function that opens downward. The vertex of this parabola will indicate the maximum area.

To find the vertex, we can use the formula for the vertex \( d = -\frac{b}{2a} \) where \( A(d) = -2d^2 + 250d \). Here, \( a = -2 \) and \( b = 250 \):

\[ d = -\frac{250}{2 \times -2} = \frac{250}{4} = 62.5 \text{ ft} \]

Now, substituting \( d = 62.5 \) back into the function \( A(d) \):

\[ A(62.5) = 62.5(250 - 2 \times 62.5) = 62.5(250 - 125) = 62.5 \times 125 = 7812.5 \text{ sq ft} \]

Thus, the maximum area \( A(d) \) is 7812.5 square feet. A reasonable vertical scale could be \( 500 \) sq ft, as this allows for clear representation of areas up to the maximum of approximately 7800 sq ft when increasing by 500 sq ft increments.

Summary

  • Horizontal Axis Scale: \( 2 \) ft
  • Vertical Axis Scale: \( 500 \) sq ft