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A farmer has four straight pieces of fencing: 1, 2, 3, and 4 yards in length.  What is the maximum area he can enclose by connecting the pieces?  Assume the land is flat.

Answer :

Maximum area enclosed with sides a, b, c, d of a quadrilateral 
= √[ (s - a)(s - b)(s - c)(s - d) ]  where s = (a + b + c + d) / 2.

Hence maximum area enclosed with pieces of given lengths
= √[ (5 - 1)(5 - 2)(5 - 3)(5 - 4) = √24 = 2√6  

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