Use the method of lagrange multipliers to minimize the function subject to the given constraint. (round your answers to three decimal places.) minimize the function f(x, y) = x2 + 3y2 subject to the constraint x + y ? 1 = 0.

Respuesta :

The Lagrangian for this problem is

[tex]L(x,y,\lambda)=x^2+3y^2+\lambda(x+y-1)[/tex]

and has partial derivatives

[tex]\begin{cases}L_x=2x+\lambda\\L_y=6y+\lambda\\L_\lambda=x+y-1\end{cases}[/tex]

Set each partial derivative equal to 0 and solve for [tex]x[/tex] and [tex]y[/tex]:

[tex]\begin{cases}2x+\lambda=0\\6y+\lambda=0\\x+y=1\end{cases}[/tex]

Subtracting the second equation from the first, we get

[tex]2x-6y=0\implies x-3y=0[/tex]

and subtracting this from the third equation yields

[tex]4y=1\implies y=\dfrac14[/tex]

which means

[tex]x+\dfrac14=1\implies x=\dfrac34[/tex]

So a critical point occurs at [tex]\left(\dfrac34,\dfrac14\right)[/tex] (or (0.750, 0.250)). The minimum value would then be [tex]f\left(\dfrac34,\dfrac14\right)=\dfrac34=0.750[/tex].