Ladders, Moats, and Lagrange Multipliers

Volume 4, Issue 1
Winter 1994

The functions we present here implement the clasical method of Lagrange multipliers for solving constrained optimization problems. The moat problem that we employ to motivate the development of these functions generalizes a standard calculus problem, and shows how symbolic algebra systems expand our horizons in the formulation and analysis of geometric problems.

Topics:

A Ladder Problem

The Moat Problem

The Lagrange Multiplier Approach

Problems