Question

AN OPEN BOX IS FORMED BY CUTTING SQUARES OUT OF A PIECE OF CARDBOARD THAT IS 16 FT BY 19 FT AND FOLDING UP THE FLAPS. WHAT SIZE CORNER SQUARES SHOULD BE CUT TO YEILD A BOX THAT HAS A VOLUME OF 175 CUBIC FEET

Answer 1

Let the side of the square to be cut out be x ft.
The volume of the resulting box is then
V = x(16-2x)(19-2x) = 175 ft³
You can solve the equation by trial and error, there should be a root around x=0.68 ft.

Answer 2

V = x(16-2x)(19-2x) = 175 ft³

Ok, thanks. Now I'm trying to multiply out and having some difficulty. I am getting 4x^3-70x^2+304x = 175 which I'm not sure how to work with

Answer 3

See response of follow-up post:
http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1252257020

Answer 4

2.885