INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTANCY ARUSHA
GSU 07414- OPERATION RESEARCH (OR)
Review Questions: Linear Programming
BA- II, BBM - II, BEF - II, BET -II, BFB –II & BPLM II – 2021/2022
1. Write at least five application areas of linear programming.
2. Briefly describe two points on how linear programming is applied in business.
3. A firm manufactures two products A and B on which the profits earned per unit are
Rs 3 and Rs 4 respectively. Each product is processed on the two machines M 1
and M2. Product A requires one minute of processing time on M1 and two minutes
on M2 while B requires one minute on M1 and one minute on M2. Machine M1 is
available for not more than 7 hours, 30 minutes, while machine M 2 is available for
10 hours during any working day.
Required:
(i) Formulate the mathematical model
(ii) Use simplex method to find the number of units of products A and B to be
manufactured to get maximum profit.
(iii) Convert the formulated mathematical model in (i) into standard form
(iv) Write the dual problem of the formulated mathematical model in (i) above
4. A manufacturer of leather belts makes three types of belts A, B and C which are
processed on three machines M1, M2 and M3. Belt A requires 2 hours on machine
M1 and 3 hours on machine M3. Belt B requires 3 hours on machine M1, 2 hours
on machine M2 and 2 hours on machine M3 and belt C requires 5 hours on machine
M2 and 4 hours on machine M3. There are 8 hours of time per day available on
machine M1, 10 hours of time per day available on machine M2 and 15 hours of
time per day available on machine M3. The profit gained from belt A is $3.0 per
unit, from belt B is $5.0 per unit and from C is $4.0 per unit.
Required:
What should be the daily production of each type of belt so that the profit is
maximum?
(Note: Use simplex method)
5. Express the following LP problem in standard form
Maximize Z = 7x1 + 5X2 subject to:
2x1 + 3x2 ≤ 20
3x1 + x2 ≥ 10
Both x1 and x2 are ≥ 0
1
6. The Peace Mark development Company is building two apartment complexes. It
must decide how many units to construct in each complex subject to labour and
material constraints. The profit generated for each apartment in the first complex
is estimated to Tsh 900, for each apartment in the second complex is Tsh1,500. A
partial initial simplex tableau for Peace Mark is given in the following table.
CBj Cj Tsh 900 Tsh 1500 Tsh 0 Tsh 0 Quantity Ratio
BV X1 X2 S1 S2 3360
Tsh 0 S1 14 4 1 0 9600
Tsh 0 S2 10 12 0 1
Zj
Cj - Zj
Required:
(i) Complete the initial tableau
(ii) Reconstruct the problem’s original constraints (excluding slack variables)
(iii) Write the problem’s original objective function
(iv) What is the basis for the initial solution?
(v) Which variable should enter the solution at the next iteration?
(vi) Which variable will leave the solution at the next iteration?
(vii) How many units of the variable entering the solution next will be in the basis
on the second tableau? Construct the second simplex tableau.
(viii) What is the optimal solution? What is the profit at the optimal solution?
7. A firm produces three products. These products are processed on three different
machines. The time required to manufacture one unit of each of the three products
and the daily capacity of the three machines are given in the table below:
Machine Time per unit (Minutes) Machine Capacity
(Minutes/day)
Product 1 Product 2 Product 3
M1 2 3 2 440
M2 4 0 3 470
M3 2 5 0 430
It is required to determine the daily number of units to be manufactured for each
product. The profit per unit for product 1, 2 and 3 is Rs. 4, Rs.3 and Rs.6
respectively. It is assumed that all the amounts produced are consumed in the
market.
Required:
(i) Formulate the mathematical (L.P.) model that will maximize the daily profit
(ii) Write the formulated mathematical model in a standard form
(iii) What is the role of slack variables?
(iv) Convert the formulated mathematical model in (i) above into a dual problem.
(v) Write the primal problem of the formulated dual problem in (iv) above
2
8. Construct the dual of the given linear programming problem
Maximize Z = 900X1 + 1500X2 subject to
14X1 + 4X2 ≤ 3360
10X1 + 12X2 ≤ 9600
Both X1, and X2 are ≥ 0
9. Food X contains 6 units of vitamin A per gram and 7 units of vitamin B per gram
and costs 12 $ per gram. Food Y contains 8 units of vitamin A per gram and 12
units of vitamin B per gram and costs 20 $ per gram. The daily minimum
requirement of vitamin A and vitamin B is 100 units and 120 units respectively. Find
the minimum cost of product mix using simplex method.
10. Explain one reason why sensitivity analysis is important to managers.
