Re: HSC 2016 2U Marathon
Can anyone solve this for me please?
A rectangle is cut from a circular disc of radius 6 cm. Find the area of the largest rectangle that can be produced.
This
may be of use...
Because of all shapes a rectangle was sandwiched in a circle, the intersection of the diagonals of the rectangle is also the centre of the circle. Hence, the diagonal of the rectangle is actually the diameter of the circle.
(Proof: According to Ext 1 circle geometry, the angle in a semicircle is a right angle, and all angles on a rectangle...are right angles)
So if you label one of the sides 'x' and then according to Pythagoras' theorem the other side is √(36-x^2)... A = x√(36-x^2)
-------> A^2 = x^2(36-x^2)
A^2 = 36x^2 - x^4
d(A^2)/dx = 72x - 4x^3 [4u students can rewrite d(A^2)/dx as 2A dA/dx using implicit diff if they want]
Then let d(A^2)/dx = 0
Trust me, letting d(A^2)/dx = 0 has the same effect as dA/dx = 0