Friday, May 25, 2007

Doing a high school maths problem with university notation

Problem: Determine the dimensions of the cylindrical can with volume v0 and minimum surface (so that we can minimise material cost).

Solution:


So, here comes the interesting question: is a real can really made up of those dimensions?


And the answer is no. This is probably due to the existence of other constraints, such as the strength of can, manufacturing considerations and aesthetics factors.

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