What is the maximum area that could be enclosed by a piece of string 132 cm long? What shape would that area take?

What is the minimum area that could be enclosed by the same string? What shape will it take?

(In reply to re: Solution by TomM)

I wonder if it can be proven that a regular n-gon will have the largest area of all n-gons with a given perimeter. That will remove one of your constraints, and since every shape can be approximated by an n-gon to an infinite exactness, would also be very close to a general proof.

Posted by levik on 2002-06-06 07:04:50