November 29th, 2017
Problem Statement
A rectangle has one corner on the graph of
y = 16 - x^2
another at the origin, a third on the positive y-axis, and the fourth on the positive x-axis. If the area of the rectangle is a function of x, what value of x yields the largest area of the rectangle.
y = 16 - x^2
another at the origin, a third on the positive y-axis, and the fourth on the positive x-axis. If the area of the rectangle is a function of x, what value of x yields the largest area of the rectangle.
ProcessIn my first attempt at drawing the diagram, I actually got help from my classmates because I had been absent that day, so I got all of my information from my peers. In the beginning, I understood what we were trying to do, and what the equation meant (t's a parabola with it's vertex on the y-axis) but when it came to understanding the rest of the equations and determining the values each point held. After talking and communicating to my group, I was able to understand what we were trying to figure out, and at the same time, understand where we were going with the problem.
For the problem, we needed to plug in various values to different equations in order to figure out the Area of the Rectangle, and the Perimeter of the Rectangle. Once my group was able to figure out the parabola and it's points, the let me know what they were, and took the time to walk me through the beginning of the problem so that I could best understand it. Our group definitely got lucky in solving the problem, and the hints that were given to us definitely pushed our thinking and helped us solve the problem. With us knowing that our equation was a parabola, that helped us in getting through the rest of the equation. |
SolutionThe problem is actually really simple once you go through it and figure it out. It was definitely a new experience for me and I feel like this problem helped me a lot in understanding the equation better. Basically, here is what we did:
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Group Test / Individual TestTo prepare for our group test, my group and I decided to do the same number, but change the numbers so we could verify that our group understood. The group really helped each other figure out the problem and making sure that we understood everything about how to solve and what each of the equations meant. I do feel like me and Lorena could've made an effort to ask more questions to better understand the problem, because I understood when working on the group test, because I was able to ask questions, but in the individual test, I confused myself and didn't really understand. I really wish me and Lorena could've asked more questions, because they could've helped us to prepare for the individual test.
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Evaluation / Reflection
During the unit, I feel like trying to understand the problem and catching up (since I was absent when we first did the problem), was what pushed my thinking. Asking questions was definitely crucial if you didn't understand the problem because if you didn't understand the question, then that's when you would fall back behind and not understand enough for the individual test. I feel like even though I didn't perform very well in the individual test, I feel like I tried my best in the group test and tried to understand the problem as best as I could. If I would give myself a grade, I would say an B+ because even though I didn't put in my best effort into the individual test, I feel like I understood the problem well enough to explain it here. If I could re-do the problem, I would definitely put more effort into asking the right questions and trying to contribute to the problem by communicating with my group during the test and practices' as well.