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Q.A farmer wants to construct an open cuboidal shape water reservoir for his field. The reservoir must have a depth of 2 meters and hold a total volume of 32 cubic meters of water. The construction cost for the cemented base is Rs. 2000 per m^2 while the cost of constructing the four walls is Rs. 1500 per m^2. If the cost of constructing the reservoir is to be kept to a minimum, then determine-

(i) What should be the length and width of the reservoir? [3]
(ii) What should be the minimum cost of constructing a reservoir? [2]
Uttarakhand UbseUttarakhand Board Intermediate (Class 12) 2026Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
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The cheapest open reservoir has a square base of 4 m×4 m4\text{ m}\times4\text{ m}, and its minimum construction cost is Rs 8000080000.

Concept. Express the total cost as a function of one variable using the volume constraint, then minimise using dCdl=0\dfrac{dC}{dl}=0 and the second-derivative test.

Set up. Let length =l=l, width =w=w, depth =2=2 m (given).

  • Volume: l⋅w⋅2=32⇒lw=16l\cdot w\cdot 2=32\Rightarrow lw=16, so w=16lw=\dfrac{16}{l}.
  • Base area =lw=16 m2=lw=16\ \text{m}^2 (fixed). Base cost =2000×16=Rs 32000=2000\times16=\text{Rs }32000.
  • Four walls: two of area l×2l\times2 and two of area w×2w\times2, so wall area =4l+4w=4(l+w)=4l+4w=4(l+w). Wall cost =1500×4(l+w)=6000(l+w)=1500\times4(l+w)=6000(l+w).

Cost function.

C(l)=32000+6000(l+16l).C(l)=32000+6000\left(l+\dfrac{16}{l}\right).

Minimise.

  • dCdl=6000(1−16l2)=0⇒l2=16⇒l=4\dfrac{dC}{dl}=6000\left(1-\dfrac{16}{l^2}\right)=0\Rightarrow l^2=16\Rightarrow l=4 m (taking the positive length). …

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