Department of Mathematics Education

EMAT 6690, J. Wilson

The Pipeline Problem

By Matt Tumlin

To find the minimum cost, you must minimize the equation. For this to be accomplished, you must first find the derivative of C(x). Then solve for x when C'(x) = 0. Next, substitute this value of x back into the cost function and the result is the minimum cost.

If C'(x) = 0, then

By minimizing this equation, we can find the cheapest route through our rectangle model, which is $3644.83. This is the route that has a total if 499.267 feet crossing normal terrain.

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