A wire that is 60 cm is cut into 2 peices. Each peice is going to be made into a square, how should the wire be cut so that the total area of the squares is as small as possible?

Question

I know that the answer is 30 cm I'm just having trouble showing the process and explaining how I got to that answer.

Answer 1

The two pieces are x and 60 - x.

The sides of the squares are x/4 and (60 - x) / 4 or 15 - x/4

The areas of the squares are (x/4)² and (15 - x/4)²

A = (x/4)² + (15 - x/4)²

Can you solve for the minimum and answer?