Quantitative Skills Linear Programming
TOPIC 2: LINEAR PROGRAMMING
1. A factory can produce two products, A and B. The contribution that can be obtained
from these products are, A contributes RM20 per unit and B contributes RM30 per
unit. It is required to maximise contribution. Write down the objective function for
this factory.
2. A farmer mixes three products to feed his cows. Feedstuff X costs 40 cents per kg,
feedstuff Y costs 80 cents and feedstuff Z costs 110 cents per kg. Each feedstuff
contributes some essential part of the cows’ diet and the farmer wishes to feed the
cows as cheaply as possible. State the objective function.
3. A factory can produce four products A, B, C, and D. The factory employs 200 skilled
workers and 150 unskilled workers and works a 40 hours’ week. The times to produce
1 unit of each product by the two types of labour are given below:
Products
A B C D
Skilled hours 5 3 1 8
Unskilled hours 5 7 4 11
If x1 is the number of units of A produced, x2 is the number of B produced, x3 is the
number of C produced, and x4 is the number of D produced, write down the
constraint functions.
4. A company produces four products P, Q, R, S which are made from two basic
materials, Sludge and Slurry. Only 1000 kg of Sludge and 800 kg of Slurry are
available in a period. The usage of the materials in the products is as follows;
Product
Materials P Q R S
Sludge 2.6 1 5 0 Kg/unit
Slurry 3.3 4 0 6.2 Kg/unit
Write down the constraint functions.
5. (Refer T2-LP-Question 5.xls)
Obtain an optimal solution for the LP model below from the EXCEL Solver:
Maximise profit, P = 3x + 4y
Subject to constraint:
(i) 4x + 2y ≤ 100
(ii) 4x + 6y ≤ 180
(iii) x + y ≤ 40
(iv) x ≤ 20
(v) y ≥ 10
x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
Where x = number of units of product A, y = number of units of product B
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Quantitative Skills Linear Programming
6. A factory produces four products A, B, C, and D which earn contributions of RM20,
RM25, RM12 and RM30 per unit respectively. The factory employs 500 workers who
work 40 hours’ week. The hours required for each product and the material
requirements are set out below:
A B C D
Hours per unit 6 4 2 5
Kgs material X per unit 2 8.3 5 9
Kgs material Y per unit 10 4 8 2
Kgs material Z per unit 1.5 - 2 8
The total availability of materials per week is:
X 100,000 kg
Y 65,000 kg
Z 220,000 kg
The company wish to maximise contribution: State the objective and constraints
function.
7. (Refer T2-LP-Question 7.xls)
A company manufactures two products X and Y. The production facilities restrict
production to a total of 50 units per day. Each day, 20 hours are available in the
assembly shop, and 32 hours in the paint shop. Each unit of x requires 30 minutes in
the assembly shop and 24 minutes in the paint shop. The corresponding times for
product Y are 10 minutes and 48 minutes respectively. The contribution to fixed
overheads and profits for each unit of product X is $9, and for a unit of product y is
$12. Advise the company on the optimal product mix. Find the maximum
contribution.
8. (Refer T2-LP-Question 8.xls)
To obtain maximum yield from a field, a farmer requires at least 300 units of nitrate,
240 units of potash and 90 units of phosphorus. He can buy two compound fertilisers
A and B. Each kilo of fertiliser A contains 10 units of nitrates, 5 units of potash, and 6
units of phosphorus; the corresponding number of units for fertiliser B are 5, 10 and 1
respectively. If the cost of fertiliser A is $1.50 per kilo and $2.00 per kilo for fertiliser
B, find the minimum cost quantities to purchase. What is the cost and which chemical
is obtained at more than the minimum quantities and by what amount?
9. (Refer T2-LP-Question 9.xls)
A chocolate manufacturer produces two kinds of chocolate bar, X and Y, which are
made in three stages: blending, baking and packaging. The time, in minutes, required
for each box of chocolate bars is as follows:
Blending Baking Packaging
X 3 5 1
Y 1 4 3
The blending and packaging equipment is available for 15 machine-hours and the
baking equipment is available for 30 machine-hours. The contribution on each box of
X is $1 and on each box of Y is $2. The machine time may be used for either X or Y
at all times it is available. All production may be sold.
(a) State the equations/ inequalities which describe the production conditions.
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Quantitative Skills Linear Programming
(b) Draw a graph of these equations/inequalities and hence find how many boxes
of each chocolate bar the manufacturer should produce to maximise
contribution.
(c) State this maximum contribution and comment on your answer.
Solution:
1. let x = number of unit A
y = number of unit B
objective function Max P = 20x + 30y
2. let x = quantity of unit M
y = quantity of unit Y
z = quantity of unit Z
objective function Min C = 40x + 80y + 110z
3. number of skill hour available = 200×40 = 8000 hours
number of unskill hour available = 150×40 = 6000 hours
5x1+3x2+x3+8x4 ≤ 8000
5x1+7x2+4x3+11x4 ≤ 6000
4. 2.6x1+x2+5x3+ ≤ 1000
3.3x1+4x2+6.2x4 ≤ 800
6. Max P = 20a+25b+12c+30d
Number of working hours available = 500×40 = 20000
6a+4b+2c+5d≤ 20000
2a+8.3b+5c+9d≤ 100000
10a+4b+8c+2d≤ 65000
1.5a+2c+8d≤ 220000
7. x + y ≤ 50
Assembly hours available = 20 × 60 = 1200 minutes
Painting hours available = 32 × 60 = 1920 minutes
30x + 10y ≤ 1200
24x + 48y ≤ 1920
Maximise, P = 9x + 12y
Answer: Optimal solution is 20 units for x and 30 units for y.
Maximum, $540
8. Constraints:
(i) Nitrate 10x + 5y ≥ 300
(ii) Potash 5x + 10y ≥ 240
(iii) Phosphorus 6x + y ≥ 90
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Quantitative Skills Linear Programming
Objective: Minimise, Z = 1.5x + 2y
9. Constraints:
(i) Blending 3x + y ≤ 900
(ii) Baking 5x + 4 y ≤ 1800
(iii) Packaging x + 3y ≤ 900
Objective: Maximise, P = x + 2y
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