A rectangular sheet of width cm is to be folded into a tray

MATHEMATICS · Multi-part · AoPS · Mathematics · Polynomials · Polynomials

Problem

A rectangular sheet of width xx cm is to be folded into a tray. Two equal strips of width xx cm are cut from a cardboard of length 2020 cm so that the new length becomes (20−2x)(20-2x) cm while the width remains xx cm. (i) Write the area A(x)A(x) of the tray as a polynomial in xx. (ii) For what positive value of xx (other than 00) does the area become zero?

Related theory

Browse the problem library