APPLIED OPTIMIZATION METHODS

EXERCISES WEEK 1

Question 1
Identify several possible optimisation problems related to cars. For one problem,
describe the nature of the mathematical problem (linear/non-linear, discrete/ contin-
uous/mixed, single/multi-objective, maximisation/minimisation), identify the decision
variables and list the constraints. What assumptions/simplifications are you making?

Question 2
Mathematically, an ellipse of semi-major axis a and semi-minor axis b can be expressed

2
2
as xa + yb = 1. Formulate the optimisation problem to find the rectangle of the
largest area that can fit within an ellipse of semi-major axis a and semi-minor axis b.

Question 3
It costs a company c Pounds per unit to manufacture a product, and d Pounds fixed
cost independent of the amount produced. If the company charges p Pounds per unit
for the product, customers demand D(p) = 1000 − p units. Formulate the optimisation
problem to determine the price that maximises profits.

Question 4
Truckco is trying to determine where they should locate a single warehouse. The posi-
tions in the x/y plane (in km) of their four customers and the number of shipments annu-
ally to each customer are given in the table below. Truckco wants to locate the warehouse
to minimise the total distance trucks must travel annually from the warehouse to the
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2 EXERCISES WEEK 1

four customers. Formulate the optimisation problem. What assumptions/simplifications

are you making?
Customer x Coordinate y Coordinate Number of shipments
1 5 10 200
2 10 5 150
3 0 12 200
4 12 0 300
Question 5
Calculate the derivative of the following functions
2 −7x
(1) f (x) = 4x
5x2 +2

(2) f (x) = 25x+1 ln (3x − 11)

(3) f (x) = xT

Ax + bT x + c     
1 −1 2 2 1
with A = −1 6 −2, b =  3  and c =  2 
2 −2 2 −1 −99
Question 6
For which values of parameter a is the function f (x1 , x2 ) = ax21 + x22 + (1 − a)x1 x2
convex?

Question 7
Consider the non-linear optimisation problem:
min x21 + x22 − 4x1 + 4
s.t. x1 − x2 + 2 ≥ 0
−x21 + x2 − 1 ≥ 0
x1 , x2 ≥ 0
(1) Show that the constraints define a convex set.
(2) Show that the objective function is convex.