FACULTY OF BASIC SCIENCES& INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

2020/2021 SEMESTER II OPEN BOOK EXAMINATIONS AUGUST 2021

BCS/BSP/DCS

PAPER: LINEAR PROGRAMMING

PAPER CODE: BCS/BSP22/DCS 1204
DATE: 7TH SEPTEMBER 2021
TIME: 7:00AM -4:00 PM
GUIDELINES
1. You are required to print out the same work submitted via the LMS; any alterations will be
treated as examination malpractice and will lead to automatic cancellation of the examination.

2. Submit hard copies of all your Work to the Examinations Office at Kampala Campus after
clearance from the accounts department; attach a photocopy of your registration card on your
work.
N.B. Handing in of hard copies will be as follows
a) MONDAY 13th September 2021 (ONLY 1ST YEARS) from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
b) TUESDAY 14th September 2021 (ONLY 2ND YEARS) from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
c) WEDNESDAY 15th September 2021(ONLY 3RD YEARS) from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Kindly follow the above schedule and submit on the right date & time, and observe SOPs to
keep safe.

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INSTRUCTIONS:
1. TIME: 6 HOURS
2. Attempt ALL questions
3. You must have good handwriting
4. Do not write on the question paper
5. All questions carry equal marks

1.) Give meanings of the following terms as used in Linear programming.

) Decision variables [2 mks]
i) Objective function [2 mks]
i) Feasible solution [2 mks]
i) Constraints [2 mks]
) A librarian needs to purchase bookcases for a new library. She has a budget of £3000
and 240m2 of available floor space. There are two types of bookcases, type 1 and type 2,
that she is permitted to buy.
Type 1 costs £150, needs 15m2 of floor space and has 40m of shelving.
Type 2 costs £250, needs 12m2 of floor space and has 60m of shelving.
1
She must buy at least 8 type 1 bookcases and wants at most of all the bookcases to be
3
type 2.
She wishes to maximise the total amount of shelving.
) Formulate the above information as a linear programming problem. [7 mks]
) Use a suitable method to solve the problem, fully justifying your answer. [8 mks]
2.) Convert the Linear programming problem below to canonical form.
Min z = x1 – x2
s.t x1 + x2 ≤ -5
x1 ≥ -10
x2 = 3
x1 ≥ 0 x2 is in R [5 mks]
) Change the Linear programming problem given below to standard form.
Min z = -3x1 – 5x2
S.t 2x1 – 3x2 ≤ 15
x1 + x 2 ≤ 3
4x1 + x2 ≥ 2
x1 ≥ 0
x2 unrestricted [5 mks]
) Solve the following Linear programming problem using the simplex tableau, given that
integer solutions are required for x and y.
Minimize C = 3x + 9y
S.t 2x + y ≥ 8
x + 2y ≥8
x, y ≥ 0 [15 mks]

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3.) a) Define the following terms as used in linear programming.
) Slack variable [2 mks]
i) Surplus variable [2 mks]
i) Artificial variable [3 mks]
) Explain the significance of the slack variables in the graphical representation of the
linear programming problem below.
Maximise P = 3x + 2y
S.t 5x + 7y + r = 70
10x + 3y + s = 60
x, y, r, s ≥ 0 [6 mks]
) Use the two-stage simplex method to solve the following problem.
Minimise C = x – 3y + z
S.t x + 2y ≤ 12
2x – y – z ≥ 10
x+y+z≥6
x, y, z ≥ 0 [12
mrks]
4.) The Big-M method is to be used to solve the following linear programming problem.

Maximise P = 3x + 5y – z
S.t x + y + z ≤ 20
3x + y + 2z ≥ 24
x, y, z ≥0
a) Rewrite the constraints as equations making use of slack, surplus and artificial
variables. [4 mks]
b) Modify the objective in preparation for using the Big-M method using non-basic
variables. [3 mks]
c) Represent the problem in an initial tableau in standard form, hence explain why the
solution given at this step is not feasible. [6 mks]
d) Carry out iterations to solve the problem. State the value of each variable in your
solution. [12 mks]

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5) a) Convert the following primal linear programming problems to;

) Canonical form of duality

Max P = 2000x + 1700y + 1200z
S.t x + y + z ≤ 120
25x + 20y + 19z ≤ 280
x, y, z ≥ 0 [5 mks]
i) Standard form of duality
Min w = 6t1 + 8t2
S.t 3t1 + t2 – t3 = 4
5t1 + 2t2 – t4 = 8
t1, t2, t3, t4 ≥ 0 [5 mks]
) A linear programming problem is given as follows:
Maximise P = 3x + 4y + 2z
S.t 2x + 4y ≤ 10
x + 2y + z = 12
4y + 2z ≥ 15
x, y, z ≥ 0
Solve this linear programming problem using an appropriate method. [15 mks]

6) a) Define the following terms

) Hyperplane [2 mks]
i) Convex set [2 mks]
) Prove the following statements;
) Every hyperplane is a convex set [4 mks]
n
i) If A is an mxn matrix and b is a vector in R , then the set of solutions to the linear system
of equations Ax = b is a convex set. [4 mks]
) Solve the linear programming problem below using the Dual simplex method.
Min w = 2x1 + 3x2 + 3x3
Such that 2x1 – 3x2 + x3 ≥ 4
x1 + x2 + 2x3 ≥ 3
x1, x2, x3 ≥ 0 [8 mks]
) Let P = 5x + 2y + 4z
S.t 2x + y + kz ≤ 10
x + 4y + z ≤ 12
4x – 2y + 3z ≤ 28 where k is a constant,
Given that an optimal solution is obtained after one iteration of the simplex algorithm,
find the range of possible values of k. [5 mks]
END

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