UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA

FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DECISION SCIENCE – TUTORIAL SHEET
Linear Programming

1. List at least four applications of linear programming problems.

2. Define the feasible region of a graphical LP problem. What is a feasible solution?

3. Each linear programming problem that has a feasible region has an infinite number
of solution. Explain.

4. What is a "corner point"? Explain why solutions to linear programming problems

focus on corner points.

5. Find the feasible solution points for the following constraints

a) 4X1 + 2X2 ˂ 16

b) 4X1 + 2x2 ˂ 16

c) 4X1 + 2X2 ˃ 16

d) 4X1 + 2X2 > 16

e) 4X1 + 2X2 = 16

6. Max 2X1 + 3X2

s.t.
1X1 + 2X2 < 6
5X1 + 3X2 < 15
X1 , X2 > 0
a. Find the optimal solution using the graphical solution procedure.
b. What is the value of the objective function at the optimal solution?

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7. Megan McKoy wakes up Tuesday morning and remembers that she promised the
PTA she would make some cakes and/or cornmeal pudding for its bake sale that
afternoon. However, she does not have time to go the store to get ingredients and
she only has a short time to bake things in her oven. Because cakes and cornmeal
puddings require different baking temperatures, she cannot bake them
simultaneously, and she has only 3 hours available to bake.

A cake requires 3 cups of flour, and a pan of pudding requires 8 cups; Marie has 20
cups of flour. A cake requires 45 minutes to bake and a pan of pudding requires 30
minutes. The PTA will sell a pan of cake for US$10 and a pan of pudding for
US$6. Megan wants to decide how many pans of cakes and cornmeal puddings she
should make
a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.
Let X = Number of cakes to be baked
Let Y = Number of pans of pudding to be baked

Maximize Revenue = 10X + 6Y

Subject to constraints:
3X + 8Y ≤ 20 (Cups of Flour)
0.75X + 0.5Y ≤ 3 (Baking Hours)
X, Y ≥ 0 (Non-Negativity)

Graph
3X + 8Y = 20 3X = 20 X = 20 / 3 = 6.67 (approximately 7) X = 7
8Y = 20 Y = 20 / 8 = 2.5 (approx. 3) Y=3

0.75X + 0.5Y = 3 0.75X = 3 X = 3 / 0.75 = 4

0.5Y = 3 Y = 3 / 0.5 = 6

A (4, 0) That is, 4 Cakes, 0 Puddings

B (0, 3) That is 0 Cakes, 3 Puddings

3X + 8Y = 20 Eq 1
0.75X + 0.5Y = 3 Eq 2
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Eq 1 * 0.75: 2.25X + 6Y = 15
Eq 2 * 3: 2.25X + 1.5Y = 9
Subtract: 0 + 4.5Y = 6 Y = 6 / 4.5 = 1.33 (Approx. 1)

Use substitution to find X

Eq 1: 3X + 8(1.33) = 20
3X + 10.64 = 20
3X = 20 – 10.64 = 9.36
X = 9.36 / 3 = 3.12 (Approx. 3)

Corner Points:
A (4, 0) That is, 4 Cakes, 0 Puddings
B (0, 3) That is 0 Cakes, 3 Puddings
C (3, 1) That is 3 Cakes, 1 Pudding

Maximize Revenue = 10X + 6Y

A: Revenue = 10(4) + 6(0) = $40
B: Revenue = 10(0) + 6(3) = $18
C: Revenue = 10(3) + 6(1) = $36

Solution: Combination that will maximize revenue is 4 Cakes & 0 pans of Pudding
Maximum Revenue = $40

b. Solve this model by using graphical analysis

8. The Munchies Cereal Company makes a cereal from several ingredients. Two of
the ingredients, oats and rice, provide vitamins A and B. The company wants to
know how many ounces of oats and rice it should include in each box of cereal to
meet the minimum requirements of 48 milligrams of Vitamin A and 12 milligrams
of Vitamin B while minimizing cost. An ounce of oats contributes 8 milligrams of
Vitamin A and 1 milligram of Vitamin B, whereas an ounce of rice contributes 6
milligrams of A and 2 milligrams of B. An ounce of oats costs $0.05 and an ounce
of rice costs $0.03.

a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

Let X = Number of ounces of Oats to be included in the cereal

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 Let Y = Number of ounces of Rice to be included in the cereal

Oats (X) Rice (Y) Minimum Requirements

Cost $0.05 $0.03
Vitamin A (per ounce) 8 mg 6 mg 48 mg
Vitamin B (per ounce) 1 mg 2 mg 12 mg

Minimize Cost = 0.05X + 0.03Y

Subject to constraints:
8X + 6Y ≥ 48 (Min requirement for Vitamin A)
X + 2Y ≥ 12 (Min requirement for Vitamin B)
X, Y ≥ 0 (Non-Negativity)

c. Solve this model by using graphical analysis

8X + 6Y = 48 6Y = 48 Y = 48 / 6 = 8
8X = 48 X = 48 / 8 = 6

X + 2Y = 12 X = 12
2Y = 12 Y = 12 / 2 = 6

A(

9. A company produces two products that are processed on two assembly lines.
Assembly line 1 has 100 available hours, and assembly line 2 has 42 available
hours. Each product requires 10 hours of processing time on line 1, while on line 2
product A requires 7 hours and product B requires 3 hours. The profit for product
A is $6 per unit, and the profit for product B is $4 per unit.

a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

b. Solve this model by using graphical analysis

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10. The Pinewood Furniture Company produces chairs and tables from two resources –
labor and wood. The company has 80 hours of labor and 36 pounds of wood
available each day. Demand for chair is limited to 6 per day. Each chair requires
8 hours of labor and 2 pounds of wood, where as a table requires 10 hours of labor,
and 6 pounds of wood. The profit gained from each chair is $400 and from each
table, $100. The company wants to determine the number of chairs and tables to
produce each day in order to maximize profit.

a. Find the optimal solution using the graphical solution procedure.

b. What is the value of the objective function at the optimal solution?

11. Universal Claims Processors processes insurance claims for large national insurance
companies. Most claim processing is done by a large pool of computer operators,
some of whom are permanent and some of whom are temporary. A permanent
operator can process 16 claims per day, whereas a temporary operator can process
12 per day, and on average the company processes at least 450 claims each day.
The company has 40 computers workstations. A permanent operator generates
about 0.5 claims with errors each day, whereas a temporary operator averages about
1.4 defective claims per day. The company wants to limit claims with errors to 25
per day. A permanent operator is paid $64 per day, and a temporary operator is paid
$42 per day. The company wants to determine the number of permanent and
temporary operators to hire in order to minimize costs.

a. Formulate a Linear Programming model for this problem

b. Solve this model by using graphical analysis

12. A jewelry store makes necklaces from gold and platinum. The store has 18 ounces
of gold and 20 ounces of platinum. Each necklace requires 3 ounces of gold and 2
ounces of platinum, whereas each bracelet requires 2 ounces of gold and 4 ounces of
platinum. The demand for bracelets is no more than four. A necklace earns $300
in profit and a bracelet, $400. The store wants to determine the number of
necklaces and bracelets to make in order to maximize profit.

a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

b. Solve this model by using graphical analysis

13. Consider the following linear programming formulation:

Minimize Cost Z = $1X1 + $2X2
Subject to: X1 + 3X2 > 90
8X1 + 2X2 > 160
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 3X1 + 2X2 > 120
X2 < 70
X1 , X2 > 0
a) Graphically illustrate the feasible region
b) Indicate which corner point produces the optimal solution
c) What is the cost of this solution?

14. Eastern Sporting Equipment, Inc. makes two types of baseball gloves: a regular
model and a catcher’s model. The firm has 900 hours of production time available
in its cutting and sewing department, 300 hours available in its finishing department,
and 100 hours available in its packaging and shipping department. The production
time requirements and the profit contribution per glove are given the following table.

PRODUCTION MODELS
TIMES PER HOUR REGULAR CATCHER
Cutting 1 1.5

Finishing 0.5 0.3

Packaging and 0.125 0.25

Shipping
PROFIT $15 $18

Assuming that the company is interested in maximizing the total profit contribution,
answer the following:
a. What is the linear programming (mathematical) model for this problem?
b. Find the optimal solution using the graphical solution procedure. How
many gloves of each model should Eastern Sporting manufacture?
c. What is the total profit contribution Eastern Sporting can earn based on the
optimal production quantities?

15. Alden, a farmer in Reach Falls, Portland, is preparing to plant a crop next
spring and needs to fertilize his field. There are two (2) brands of fertilizer to
choose from, Super-grow and Crop-quick. Each brand yields a specific amount of
nitrogen and phosphate per bag as follows:
Chemical BRAND
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 Contribution Super-grow Crop-quick

Nitrogen lb./bag 2 4

Phosphate lb./bag 4 3

Alden’s field requires at least 16 pounds of nitrogen and at least 24 pounds of

phosphate. Super-grow costs $6 per bag and Crop-quick cost $3 per bag.
Alden wants to know how many bags of each brand of fertilizer he should buy in
order to minimize the total cost of fertilizing his farm.

a) Using X1 and X2 to define the decision variables, state what would be represented by
X1 and X2 respectively.

b) Derive Alden’s objective function in terms of X1 and X2

c) Formulate the constraints that Alden will face in attempting to prepare his field for
planting next spring.

d) Graphically illustrate the feasible region for the constraints formulated in (c) above.
Label the appropriate region with the words “Feasible Region”.

e) Label the corner points of the feasible region with the appropriate co-ordinates, for
example A(11,12).

f) Advise Alden how many bags of each fertilizer he should purchase to optimize his
objective function.

17. Two models of Cricket Bats – Regular (X) and Deluxe (Y) – are produced by
Century Innings Company Ltd. A linear programming model is used to determine
the production schedule. The formulation is as follows:

Maximize profit = 50X + 60 Y

Subject to: 8X + 10Y ≤ 800 (labor hours)
X + Y ≤ 120 (total units demanded)
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 4X + 5Y ≤ 500 (raw materials)
Y> 5
X> 8
X, Y ≥ 0

a. Graphically illustrate the feasible region (8 marks)

b. What are the extreme/corner points of the feasible region?
c. What is the optimal solution of bats that should be made?
d. What is the value of the optimal solution?

18. Copperfield Mining Company owns two mines each of which produces three grades
ore: high, medium and low. The Company has a contract to supply a smelting
company with at least 12 tons of high grade ore, 8 tons of medium grade ore, and 24
tons of low grade ore. Each mine produces a certain amount of each type of ore
during each hour that it operates. Mine 1 produces 6 tons of high grade ore, 2 tons
of medium grade ore, and 4 tons of low grade ore per hour. Mine 2 produces 2, 2,
and 12 tons, respectively, of high, medium, and low grade ore per hour. It costs
Copperfield $200 per hour to mine each tone ore from mine 1, and it costs $160 per
to mine each ton of ore from mine 2. The company wants to determine the number
of hours it needs to operate each mine so that its contractual obligation can be met at
the lowest cost.

a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

b. Solve this model by using graphical analysis.