A rectangular storage area is to be constructed along the side of a tall building. a security fence is required along the remaining 3 sides of the area. what is the maximum area that can be enclosed with 800 m of fencing? (a = lw)

Let l represent the length of fence parallel to the side of the building. Then the width will be that of half the remaining fence, (800 - l) / 2. The total area will be

A = lw = l (800 - l) / 2

This is the equation of a downward-opening parabola with zeros at l=0 and l=800. The zeros are symmetrical about the axis of symmetry of the parabola, which axis goes through the vertex. That is, the vertex is located at

l = (0 + 800) / 2 = 400

The maximum aea that can be enclosed is 400 m long by 200 m wide, so is

(400 m) * (200 m) = 80,000 m²