Maximize or Minimize
A defiant student minimizes rather than maximizes the area of wire squares, producing an ever-growing pile of tiny squares.
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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2019-04-30-maximize-or-minimize/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
Teacher: "In this problem, you create several squares from wire, aiming to maximize total area." Student: "You don't tell me what I aim to do! I'm gonna minimize the area!"
[Many hours later] Teacher: "Maximize! I beg you, maximize!" Student (amid a pile of tiny squares): "I want less area… time for MORE SQUARES"