Finding the Maximum Volume A carpenter is building an open box with a square base for holding firewood. The box must have a surface area of
8m^(2). What dimensions will yield the maximum volume? Solution Draw a diagram. The quantity to be maximized is volume. So write an algebraic model to express the box's volume as a function of one dimension. Let
xrepresent the width of the box,
ythe height, and
Vthe volume.
volume = length \times width \times height
V=(x)(x)(y)
=x^(2)y