Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/paper-2/4/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2005 Paper 2 4 c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Let denote the stated cost per area of the cylindrical wall. Charge for the curved wall and cap as specified; no floor cost is supplied. The volume and cost are and . To minimize cost at fixed volume, apply a Lagrange multiplier to . Differentiation with respect to gives . The derivative then gives , reducing to . Thus the optimal cylinder and hemispherical cap with unequal surface costs hasFor a global check, eliminate to obtain . Its second derivative is positive for , and its critical radius gives , so the constrained optimum lies inside the physically feasible range and is the unique minimum.
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