Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/paper-2/6/b/solution

Maximize the total surface area with the constraint . The Lagrange multiplier equations are
From the second, . Substitute into the first and multiply by to obtain . Thus the aspect ratio satisfies . Since ,
This is the maximum-area cylinder inscribed in a sphere. The dimensions and area, although not needed to specify the ratio, are
There is only one positive stationary ratio. At the degenerate boundaries and , the limiting areas are zero and , both below this value, confirming the maximum.

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