A Gallery of Visualization DEMOS for Optimization Problems

The following is a gallery of demos for visualizing common max-min problems. These animations can be used by instructors in a classroom setting or by students to aid in acquiring a visualization background relating to the steps for solving max-min problems. Two file formats, gif and mov are available.

The gif animations should run on most systems and the file sizes are relatively small.
The mov animations require the QuickTime Player (version 5) which is a free download available by clicking here; these file are also small. (The mov files may not execute properly in old versions of QuickTime.)
The collection of animations in gif and mov format can be downloaded; see the 'bulk' zipped download category at the bottom of the following table.

For a detailed description click in the "General problem description" region.

Credits: This demo was developed by

David R. Hill
Department of Mathematics
Temple University

and is included in Demos with Positive Impact with his permission.

1/02/2003 last updated 6/6/2007

Visitors since 3/22/2006

General problem description.	Sample.	Gifs.	QuickTime	MATLAB program.	Run JAVA applet.	Excel program; click to run or download.
Maximize the area of a pen		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	pen applet	available
Minimize the time for rowing and walking		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	row/walk applet	not available
Maximize the volume of an inscribed cylinder		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	not available	not available
Maximize the area of an inscribed rectangle		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	rectangle under curve applet	Routine with 7 different curves is available.
Determine the point on a curve closest to a fixed point		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	distance point to curve applet	Routine with 6 different curves is available.
Maximize the area for two pens		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	not available	available
Maximize the area of a rectangle inscribed in an isosceles triangle		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	inscribe rectangle applet	available
Maximize the printable region of a poster		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	not available	available
Construct a box of maximum volume		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	not available	available
Construct a cone of maximum volume		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	available	not available	available
Maximize the viewing angle of the Statue of Liberty		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	not available	not available	not available
	Download a zipped Geometer's Sketch Pad file for Statue of Liberty in GSP4		Click to see a sketch of distance from base vs viewing angle; gif.	Click to see a sketch of distance from base vs viewing angle;mov.
Minimize the travel time for light from one point to another		Click to view the gif animation.	Click to view the mov animation.	not available	not available	not available
	Download a zipped Geometer's Sketch Pad file for light reflection in GSP4
	Zipped downloads ==>	Click here to download the set of animated gifs.	Click here to download the set of animated movs.	Click here to download the set of MATLAB files.	Click here to download the Java applets.