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Engineering LibreTexts

13: Optimization

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In in the previous chapter you were asked to find the best launch angle for a human cannonball, meaning the angle that maximizes the distance traveled before landing. This kind of problem, finding minimums and maximums, is called optimization.

In this chapter, we’ll solve a similar problem, finding the best launch angle for a baseball. We’ll solve the problem two ways, first running simulations with a range of values and plotting the results, then using a MATLAB function that automates the process, fminsearch.


This page titled 13: Optimization is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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