The Integral of a Hammock to Maximize Gardening Space

by Forrest Foxen

Submitted : Spring 2021

Hammocks are associated with relaxation, but they consume valuable real estate in small backyards. The solution to these space constraints could mean installing gardens and yard decorations on the underside of a traditional mesh hammock. Calculus and geometric methods were used to determine the area under a curve, from which a hammock could feasibly create. This curve extended from 2 endpoints, made up by the tree anchor points, and came to a lower central point. When sketched, the hammock curve matched that of a bounded absolute value function. The usefulness of this area calculation could be applied in the planning phase of various gardening projects. As a secondary focus, trigonometry was used to explore the physical forces present for a standard hammock system. It was found that when assembling a hammock between 2 trees, the health of those trees can be maximized by considering the gravitational and tension forces present.

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