Math E-21a – Fall 2018 – HW #8 solutions – practice problems only

Practice 1. Find the maximum and minimum values of the function f ( x, y, z ) = xyz on that part of the surface
x + y + 4z = 36 in the first octant, i.e. where x, y, z ≥ 0.
Solution: To maximize f ( x, y, z ) = xyz subject to the constraint
g ( x, y, z ) = x + y + 4 z = 36 , we use the Method of Lagrange Multipliers. The
ggg ggg  yz = λ ⋅1 
 
condition ∇f = λ∇g gives the equations  xz = λ ⋅1  . It is clear that this function
 xy = λ ⋅ 4 
takes on its minimum value of 0 on each of the coordinate planes, but elsewhere we
can assume that neither x nor y nor z are equal to 0. Pairwise division then gives
y x
= 1 , so y = x , and = 4 , so = x 4= z y . Substitution into the constraint then gives that
x z
4 z + 4 z + 4 z = 12 z = 36 , so z = 3 and therefore x= y= 12 . So the maximum value will occur at (12,12,3)
and the maximum value will be f (12,12,3) = 12 ⋅12 ⋅ 3 = 432 .

Practice 2. Model the earth as the sphere x 2 + y 2 + z 2 =

1 . Suppose that the temperature at a point ( x, y, z ) on
the surface is T ( x, y, z ) = x 2 − y 2 + z + 1 in appropriate units. Find the points with the highest and lowest
temperatures.
Solution: We wish to find the extrema of T ( x, y, z ) = x 2 − y 2 + z + 1 subject to the constraint
ggg ggg
g ( x, y, z ) = x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1 . Using the Method of Lagrange Multipliers, the condition ∇f = λ∇g gives the
 2x = λ ⋅ 2x 
 
equations −2 y = λ ⋅ 2 y  . The first equation may be rewritten as 2 x(λ − 1) =0 , so either x = 0 or λ =1 .
 1 = λ ⋅ 2 z 

y
For the x = 0 case, dividing the other relations gives that −2 y = (note that λ ≠ 0 from the last equation), so
z
−2 yz = 0 , so either y = 0 or z = − 2 . The former gives z 2 = 1 , so either z = 1 or z = −1 . This
y or y (1 + 2 z ) = 1

gives the two candidate points (0, 0,1) and (0, 0, −1) . The latter gives y 2 + 14 =
1 or y 2 = 34 , so either y = 23
or y = − 23 . This gives the two candidate points (0, 23 , − 12 ) and (0, − 23 , − 12 ) .

For the λ =1 case, the second equation gives that y = 0 , and the third equation gives that z = 12 . Substituting
these into the constraint gives that x 2 = 34 , so either x = 23 or x = − 23 . This gives the two candidate points
( 23 , 0, 12 ) and (− 23 , 0, 12 ) .

0 , T (0, 23 , − 12 ) =
Evaluation gives T (0, 0,1) = 2 , T (0, 0, −1) = − 14 , T (0, − 23 , − 12 ) =
− 14 , T ( 23 , 0, 12 ) = 94 , and
T (− 23 , 0, 12 ) =
9 . So the maximum value of 9 occurs at ( 3 , 0, 1 ) and ( − 3 , 0, 1 ) , and the minimum value of
4 4 2 2 2 2
− 14 occurs at (0, 23 , − 12 ) and (0, − 23 , − 12 ) .

Practice 3. Design an open top cylindrical container that holds 50cc and has the minimum possible surface
area. What should its dimensions be?
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 Solution: We wish to minimize the surface area A(r , h) =πr 2 + 2πrh subject to the
 
constraint V (r , h) = 50 The Lagrange Multiplier condition ∇A = λ∇V gives the
πr 2 h =.
2πr + 2πh = λ ⋅ 2πrh  r + h = λ ⋅ rh 
two equations   or, more simply,  2 = λ ⋅ r  . Division gives
 2πr = λ ⋅ πr 2
  
r+h
= h , so r + h =2h and therefore r = h . Substitution into the constraint then gives
2
50 , so=
πr 3 = r =
50 h .
3
π

Practice 4. Use any method you like to find the point on the ellipsoid with equation 9 x 2 + 36 y 2 + 4 z 2 = 36 that
is closest to the plane with equation 2 x + 3 y + z = 24 . [There is a simple solution to this. Try drawing a
picture first.]
Solution: If we write f ( x, y, z ) =9 x 2 + 36 y 2 + 4 z 2 , then the ellipsoid is the f = 36 level surface. At the point
( x, y, z ) on the ellipsoid that is closest to the plane (and at the furthest

point), the normal to this surface given by ∇f must be parallel to the
normal vector for the plane, namely n = 2,3,1 . So we must have
18 x = 2λ 
 
18 x, 72 y,8 z = λ 2,3,1 for some scalar λ . Therefore 72 y = 3λ  or,
 8 z = λ 
 9x = λ 
 
more simply 24 y = λ  , so = 9 x 24 = y 8 z . So x = 89 z and y = 3z . Substituting into the equation of the
 8 z = λ 
64 z 2 136 z 2
ellipsoid gives + 4 z 2 + 4 z 2= = 36 or z 2 = 34
81 . Therefore either z = 9 or z = − 9 . These
9 9 34 34
correspond to the points ( 8 , 3 , 9 ) and (− 8 , − 3 , − 9 ) . It’s relatively easy to see that
34 34 34 34 34 34
( 8 , 3 , 9 ) is the closest point and (− 8 ,− 3 ,− 9 ) is the furthest point on the ellipsoid.
34 34 34 34 34 34

Practice 5. The plane x + y + 2 z = 2 intersects the paraboloid =

z x 2 + y 2 in an ellipse. Find the points on this
ellipse that are nearest to and farthest from the origin.
Solution:

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Practice 6. A cookie manufacturer finds that production depends on three factors: the number of units x of
labor, the number of units y of capital, and the number of elves z working behind the scenes and conducting
magic. The production P depends on these factors according to the relation P = 300 x 0.4 y 0.5 z 0.1 .
It costs the company $80 per unit of labor, $25 per unit of capital, and $15 per elf. The company is required
to meet a production P of 12,000 boxes of cookies. What choices of x, y, and z will meet this production at
the lowest possible cost?
Solution: We want to minimize cost B ( x, y, z ) = 80 x + 25 y + 15 z subject to the constraint
 
= =
P( x, y, z ) 300 x 0.4 y 0.5 z 0.1 12000 . The Lagrange Multiplier condition is that ∇B = λ∇P . This yields the
80 = λ ⋅120 x −.6 y.5 z .1 
  16 4 z 5 5z
three equations 25 = λ ⋅150 x.4 y −.5 z .1  . Pairwise division gives = and = or, more simply, z = 43 x
 15 = λ ⋅ 30 x.4 y.5 z −.9  3 x 3 y
 
and = z 4 x . If we substitute these into the constraint we get 300 x 0.4 (4 x)0.5 ( 43 x)0.1 = 12000 or
y 3=
20
2( 43 )0.1 x = 40 , =
so x 4 0.1 y 4 x ≅ 77.7313 and=
≅ 19.4328 . We then compute that = z 43 x ≅ 25.9104 .
(3)
Practice 7. Production at a certain factory is determined by the function P ( x, y ) = 300 x 2 y 3 where x is the
1 1

number of units of labor and y is the number of units of capital. We know that the unit prices for labor and
capital are $100 and $120 respectively. The managers at the factory have been raising their budget to pay
 x(t ) = 20 + 8t 
for more labor and capital according to the relations:   where t is measured in months. After
 y (t ) = 45 + 8t 
10 months the owners start to raise questions about the efficient operation of the factory.
a) Determine how much money is being spent at t = 10 months and what the production is at that point.
Solution: B( x= , y ) 100 x + 120 y , and x(10) = 100 and y (10) = 125 . So B (100,125) = 10000 + 15000 = 25000 .
b) At that point, at what rate would the production increase if we were to spend an additional dollar on labor?
∂P − 12 13 −1 1 150 ⋅ 5
Solution:= 150 x = y =
150(100) 2 (125) 3
= 75 .
∂x 10
c) Again at that point, at what rate would production increase if we were to spend an additional dollar on
capital?
∂P 1
2 − 3
2 1 − 23 100 ⋅10
= 100 x=
Solution: y =
100(100) 2 (125) = 40 .
∂y 25
d) For the same budget that you computed in part a), how would you reallocate your resources, i.e. what should
x and y be, if your goal is to get maximal production for the same budget?
Solution: To get the most “bang for the buck”, you should allocate the dollar optimally, i.e. in accordance
  150 x 2 y 3 = λ ⋅100 
−1 1

with the Lagrange Multiplier condition ∇P = λ∇B . This gives the equations  1 −2  . Division
100 x 2 y 3 = λ ⋅120 
3y 5
gives = or y = 95 x . With the budget of B ( x, y ) = 100 x + 120 y = 25000 we have
2x 6
500 x
100 x + 120( 95 x) = = 25000 , so x = 150 and = y 250 =3 83 1 3 .
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e) Now that you've reallocated resources for greatest efficiency, if you were to spend an additional dollar in the
most efficient way, at what rate would the production increase?
Solution: We showed that this is given by the value of the Lagrange Multiplier at this point. Using the first
1
− 1 1
3 x 2 y 3 3( 250 3
3 ) ≅ .535 units per dollar.
=
of the two equations, we solve for λ = 1
2 2(150) 2
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