Step 1 :The problem is asking for the dimensions of a box that will minimize the cost of construction given the cost per square foot of each side. The box has a square base and top, and a fixed volume.
Step 2 :We can start by expressing the cost of the box in terms of one variable. The volume of the box is given by the formula \(V = lwh\), where \(l\) is the length, \(w\) is the width, and \(h\) is the height. Since the base and top are square, \(l = w\). So, we can express the volume as \(V = l^2h\).
Step 3 :We can express \(h\) in terms of \(l\) and \(V\) as \(h = \frac{V}{l^2}\).
Step 4 :The cost of the box is given by the formula \(C = 20l^2 + 15l^2 + 2.5(4lh)\), where the first term represents the cost of the bottom, the second term represents the cost of the top, and the third term represents the cost of the sides.
Step 5 :We can substitute \(h = \frac{V}{l^2}\) into the cost formula to express \(C\) in terms of \(l\) only.
Step 6 :Then, we can find the derivative of \(C\) with respect to \(l\) and set it equal to zero to find the value of \(l\) that minimizes \(C\).
Step 7 :Finally, we can substitute this value of \(l\) back into the formula for \(h\) to find the height of the box.
Step 8 :Final Answer: The dimensions that will minimize the cost are a base side length of \(\boxed{4.3}\) feet and a height of \(\boxed{29.8}\) feet.