ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H.

Abou-El-Enien

Exercises (3)
Chapter (4)

Linear Programming: Modeling Examples

Choose the correct answer :

1) When systematically formulating a linear program, the first step is to:
A) construct the objective function.
B) formulate the constraints.
C) identify the decision variables.
D) identify the parameter values.

2) Assume that x2, x7 and x8 are the dollars invested in three different common stocks from New
York Stock Exchange. In order to diversify the investments, the investing company requires that
no more than 60% of the dollars invested can be in "stock 2." The constraint for this requirement
can be written as:
A) x2 ≥ .60.
B) x2 ≥ .60 (x2 + x7 + x8).
C) .4x2 - .6x7 - .6x8 ≤ 0.
D) .4x2 - .6x7 - .6x8 ≥ 0.

3) The owner of Black Angus Ranch is trying to determine the correct mix of two types of beef
feed, A and B, which cost 50 cents and 75 cents per pound, respectively. Five essential ingredients
are contained in the feed, shown in the table below. The table also shows the minimum daily
requirements of each ingredient.

Ingredient Percent per Percent per Minimum daily

pound pound requirement
in Feed A in Feed B (pounds)
1 20 24 30
2 30 10 50
3 0 30 20
4 24 15 60
5 10 20 40
The constraint for ingredient 3 is:
A) .5A + .75B = 20.
B) .3B = 20.
C) .3B ≤ 20.
D) .3B ≥ 20.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

Artisanal Chips
The owner of Artisanal Chips etc. produces three flavors of artisanal corn chips marketed at new
college graduates — pumpkin (P), chipotle adobo (A) and basement (B). He has a limited amount
of the three ingredients used to produce these chips available for his next production run: 1,000
ounces of salt, 2,000 ounces of maize, and 1,200 ounces of herbs. A bag of pumpkin chips requires
2 ounces of salt, 6 ounces of maize, and 1.75 ounces of herbs to produce; while a bag of chipotle-
adobo chips requires 6 ounces of salt, 6 ounces of maize, and 5 ounces of herbs. A bag of basement
chips requires 1.75 ounces of salt, 3.5 ounces of maize, and 1.5 ounces of herbs. Profits for a bag
of basement chips are $0.40, for chipotle-adobo chips is $0.60, and for a bag of pumpkin chips
$0.50.

4) For the production combination of 100 bags of each flavor of chips, which of the three
resources is (are) not completely used?
A) maize only
B) salt and maize only
C) herbs maize and salt
D) salt and herbs only

5) What is the constraint for salt?

A) 2P + 6C + 1.75B ≤ 1000
B) 2P + 3C + 4B ≤ 1000
C) 3P + 6C + 3.5B ≤ 2000
D) 3P + 3C + 4B ≤ 2000

6) Which of the following is not a feasible production combination?

A) 128B and 128C
B) 128C and 128P
C) 128P and 128B
D) 150P, 10C and 360B

7) Which of these answers is optimal?

A) 120P, 100C, and 88B
B) 130P, 88C and 100B
C) 140P, 88C and 88B
D) 150P and 400B

Taco Quatro
Taco Quatro can make their entire menu out of their fantastic four Mexican ingredients, cheese,
meat, beans and tortillas.
A Nacholupa needs 2 ounces of cheese, 4 ounces of beans and 3 tortillas. A Quesatilla needs 4
ounces of cheese, 2 ounces of meat and 1 tortilla. An Enchinacho requires 2 ounces each of cheese,
meat, and beans plus 3 tortillas. Their newest menu item, the Burritaco needs 4 ounces of cheese,
2 ounces of meat and one tortilla. A Nacholupa sells for $2.75, a Quesatilla sells for $2, an
Enchinacho sells for $3 and the new Burritaco sells for $4.
The assistant manager checks the cooler one fine Monday morning and sees that they have 400
ounces of cheese, 150 ounces of meat, 400 ounces of beans and 250 tortillas on hand.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

8) What is an appropriate objective function for this fast food vignette?

A) Max Z = 2.75N + 4B + 2Q + 3E
B) Min Z = 400C + 150M + 400B + 250T
C) Min Z = 2.75N + 4B + 2Q + 3E
D) Max Z = 400C + 150M + 400B + 250T

9) Which of these is a decision variable for the LP formulation of this problem?

A) cheese
B) Nacholupa
C) 400
D) $2.75

10) What is an appropriate constraint for this fast food vignette?

A) 250T + 400B + 150M + 400C
B) 4C + 1M + 0B + 4T ≤ 4
C) 2N + 4B + 4Q + 3E ≤ 400
D) 2.75N + 4B + 2Q + 3E

11) How many decision variables are in the LP formulation?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

12) Which of these statements about the sensitivity report is best?

Cell Name Final Reduced Objective Allowabl Allowabl

Value Cost Coefficie e e
nt Increase Decrease
$D$4 Burritaco 0 -0.125 4 0.125 1E+30
$C$4 Nacholupa 55 0 2.75 0.25 0.114

A) There are no Burritacos being made.

B) If the Nacholupa has a cost reduction of more than 0, none will be made.
C) The company can make up to 1E + 30 Burritacos.
D) The company can make an additional 0.25 Nacholupas if they want to with the leftover
ingredients.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

13) Which of the statements about this portion of the sensitivity report is best?

Cell Name Final Shadow Constrai Allowab Allowab

Value Price nt le le
R.H. Increase Decreas
Side e
$G$7 Cheese 400 0.25 400 16.6666 233.333
7 3
$G$8 Meat 150 0.125 150 110 10

A) Cheese costs more than meat.

B) One additional pound of meat should be purchased if it can be acquired for $2 or less.
C) There is both cheese and meat left over if the optimal product mix is produced.
D) The shadow price of cheese can rise to 16.8167 before the right hand side changes.

Atwitter
The college director of global activities was hopeful that the print ads in the school newspaper
and 30 second spots on the campus radio station would spur some interest in the array of study
tour and study abroad options he had secured. The communications director for the college had
other ideas; she favored a social media campaign consisting of tweets and Facebook postings.
"This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of," he whined to the dean.
The communications director's market research revealed the following:

Medium Exposure Cost

Newspaper 5,000 $500
Radio 3,000 $250
Twitter 700 $25
Facebook 200 $15

The advertising budget is $3500, but there is no requirement that all the money be spent. The
newspaper has only four issues before the end of the semester, but the radio is a 24/7 operation
and has two dozen 30 second slots available. Facebook postings must be alternated with the rest
of the mindless drivel posted on the college page; thus there is space for only three postings before
the end of the semester. Twitter is complicated by the 140-character requirement. The
communications director feels she needs five tweets to convey a single message about tours and
semesters abroad, so for one message, the cost would be $25 for each of the five components of
the single ad. Due to thumb fatigue, she feels that she has only 2800 characters left in her thumbs
before the end of the semester. (A side note - During the intersession period, she plans to embark
on a strict regimen of thumb yoga to prepare for the coming semester.)

14) What is an appropriate objective function for this scenario?

A) Max Z = 5,000N + 3,000R + 700T + 200F
B) Max Z = 500N + 250R + 125T + 15F
C) Min Z = 500N + 250R + 125T + 15F
D) Min Z = 5,000N + 3,000R + 700T + 200F
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

15) Which of these is an appropriate constraint for this scenario?

A) 5,000N + 3,000R + 700T + 200F ≤ 3,500
B) 500N + 250R + 125T + 15F ≤ 3,500
C) N + R + T + F ≥ 36
D) T ≤ 2,800

16) If Xab = the production of product a in period b, then to indicate that the limit on production
of the company's 3 products in period 2 is 400, we write:
A) X32 ≤ 400.
B) X21 + X22 + X23 ≤ 400.
C) X12 + X22 + X32 ≤ 400.
D) X12 + X22 + X32 ≥ 400.

17) Balanced transportation problems have which of the following type of constraints?
A) ≥
B) ≤
C) =
D) <

18) Compared to blending and product mix problems, transportation problems are unique
because:
A) they maximize profit.
B) the constraints are all equality constraints with no "≤" or "≥" constraints.
C) they contain fewer variables.
D) the solution values are always integers.

19) A croissant shop produces two products: bear claws (B) and almond-filled croissants (C). Each
bear claw requires 6 ounces of flour, 1 ounce of yeast, and 2 TS of almond paste. An almond-filled
croissant requires 3 ounces of flour, 1 ounce of yeast, and 4 TS of almond paste. The company has
6600 ounces of flour, 1400 ounces of yeast, and 4800 TS of almond paste available for today's
production run. Bear claw profits are 20 cents each, and almond-filled croissant profits are 30 cents
each. What is the optimal daily profit?
A) $380
B) $400
C) $420
D) $440

Spring is right around the corner and that can mean only one thing: it's time to incubate some eggs
for a fresh crop of chickens to supplement the existing flock for the year. There are three breeds
that are popular: Leghorns, Buff Orpingtons, and Cochins, and each has its own strengths and
weaknesses. The Leghorns, for example, are superb layers but easily excitable. The Cochins, on
the other hand, are very even-tempered but not the best layers. They do have marvelous plumage,
with feathers that extend down to their feet. The Buff Orpingtons are good layers, have interesting
plumage, and are mid-range in their temperament.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

The chicken farmer would like this crop of chickens to produce as many eggs as possible while
keeping the noise to a dull roar and having a nice array of birds free-ranging on his lawn during
those lazy summer days. He has put the relevant data in table form. Plumage numbers are on a
scale from 1-10, with 10 being the most desirable. The egg output is not on a scale, but is instead
the average output for the breed, based on years of collecting eggs.

Bird Leghorn Cochin Buff Orpington

Eggs/week 5 2 4.5
Plumage 3 9 6
Temperament 2 8 5
Fertilizer 3 2 4
Appetite 5 4 8

Temperament is actually measured by the average volume of cackling, clucking, and crowing
and is measured in decibels per bird. Appetite is measured in ounces of layer pellets per week
consumed by each of the breeds, while fertilizer is measured as the output in ounces per week.

20) Which of the following is an appropriate objective function?

A) Max Z = 5L + 2C + 4.5B
B) Max Z = 10L + 10C + 10B
C) Min Z = 5L + 2C + 4.5B
D) Min Z = 10L + 10C + 10B

21) The poultry farmer would like to generate 80 ounces of fertilizer per week while feeding a
maximum of 160 ounces of layer pellets each week. Which of these constraints is correct?
A) 3L + 2C + 4C ≤ 80
B) 5L + 4C + 8B ≤ 160
C) 5L + 4C + 8B ≥ 160
D) 5L + 4C + 8B ≥ 80

22) The poultry farmer has in mind the following levels for each of his metrics of interest: a
plumage score greater than 75, fertilizer production greater than 80 ounces per week, temperament
less than 100 decibels, and an appetite less than 160 ounces of layer pellets per week. When he
runs his linear programming model, he discovers that his flock will consist entirely of Leghorn
birds. He can picture the sad little faces of his children when he tells them that there will be no
variety of birds gracing their front lawn this summer. Help him avoid the embarrassment by
selecting a constraint that will ensure that there is some variety in his flock.
A) 5L + 4C + 8B ≤ 160
B) 5L + 4C + 8B ≥ 160
C) C + B ≥ 5
D) L + C + B ≥ 5

23) When the poultry farmer runs his linear programming model, he discovers that his flock will
consist entirely of Leghorn birds. He studies his sensitivity report (copied below) and decides to
write a constraint that requires two Cochin chickens to be selected. If the current optimal mix of
breeds results in 160 eggs per week, which of the following statements is best?
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

Cell Name Final Reduced Objective Allowable Allowable

Value Cost Coefficien Increase Decrease
t
$B$1 Leghorn 32 0 5 1E+30 2.1875
$C$1 Cochin 0 -2 2 3 1E+30
$D$1 Buff 0 -3.5 4.5 3.5 1E+30
Orpington

A) The new weekly egg output will be 169.

B) The new weekly egg output will be 162.
C) The new weekly egg output will be 158.
D) The new weekly egg output will be 153.

24) The poultry farmer has in mind the following levels for each of his metrics of interest: a
plumage score greater than 75, fertilizer production greater than 80 ounces per week, temperament
less than 100 decibels, and an appetite less than 160 ounces of layer pellets per week. Use this
portion of the sensitivity report to evaluate the following statements:

Cell Name Final Reduced Objective Allowable Allowable

Value Cost Coefficien Increase Decrease
t
$B$1 Leghorn 32 0 5 1E+30 2.1875
$C$1 Cochin 0 -2 2 3 1E+30
$D$1 Buff 0 -3.5 4.5 3.5 1E+30
Orpington

A) The noise level around the farm should be over 60 decibels.

B) The fertilizer generated will be 160 ounces per week.
C) Layer pellets will be consumed at the rate of 96 ounces per week.
D) The plumage score will be less than 40.

25) Let xij = gallons of component i used in gasoline j. Assume that we have two components and
two types of gasoline. There are 8000 gallons of component 1 available, and the demand gasoline
types 1 and 2 are 11,000 and 14,000 gallons, respectively. Write the supply constraint for
component 1.
A) x21 + x22 ≤ 8000
B) x12 + x22 ≥ 8000
C) x11 + x12 ≤ 8000
D) x21 + x22 ≥ 8000
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

26) Let xij = gallons of component i used in gasoline j. Assume that we have two components and
two types of gasoline. There are 8000 gallons of component 1 available, and the demand gasoline
types 1 and 2 are 11,000 and 14,000 gallons, respectively. Write the demand constraint for gasoline
type 1.
A) x21 + x22 = 11000
B) x12 + x22 = 11000
C) x11 + x21 ≤ 11000
D) x11 + x21 = 11000

27) Let xij = gallons of component i used in gasoline j. Assume that we have two components and
two types of gasoline. There are 8000 gallons of component 1 available, and the demand gasoline
types 1 and 2 are 11,000 and 14,000 gallons, respectively. Write the constraint stating that the
component 1 cannot account for more than 35% of the gasoline type 1.
A) x11 + x12 (.35)(x11 + x21)
B) x11 + .35(x11 + x12)
C) -.65x11 + .35x21 ≤ 0
D) .65x11 - .35x21 ≤ 0

28) Quickbrush Paint Company is developing a linear program to determine the optimal quantities
of ingredient A and ingredient B to blend together to make oil-base and water-base paint. The oil-
base paint contains 90 percent A and 10 percent B, whereas the water-base paint contains 30
percent A and 70 percent B. Quickbrush currently has 10,000 gallons of ingredient A and 5,000
gallons of ingredient B in inventory and cannot obtain more at this time. Assuming that x represents
the number of gallons of oil-base paint, and y represents the gallons of water-base paint, which
constraint correctly represents the constraint on ingredient A?
A) .9A + .1B ≤ 10,000
B) .9x + .1y ≤ 10,000
C) .3x + .7y ≤ 10,000
D) .9x + .3y ≤ 10,000

29) A systematic approach to model formulation is to first:

A) construct the objective function.
B) develop each constraint separately.
C) define decision variables.
D) determine the right hand side of each constraint.

30) Let: rj = regular production quantity for period j, oj = overtime production quantity in period
j, ij = inventory quantity in period j, and dj = demand quantity in period j. Correct formulation of
the demand constraint for a multiperiod scheduling problem is:
A) rj + oj + i2 - i1 ≥ dj.
B) rj + oj + i1 - i2 ≥ dj.
C) rj + oj + i1 - i2 ≤ dj.
D) rj - oj - i1 + i2 ≥ dj.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

31) In a multiperiod scheduling problem, the production constraint usually takes the form of:
A) beginning inventory + demand - production = ending inventory.
B) beginning inventory - demand + production = ending inventory.
C) beginning inventory - ending inventory + demand = production.
D) beginning inventory + demand + production = ending inventory.

32) The type of linear program that compares services to indicate which one is less productive or
inefficient is called:
A) product mix.
B) data envelopment analysis.
C) marketing.
D) blending.

In a portfolio problem, X1, X2, and X3 represent the number of shares purchased of stocks 1, 2,
and 3, which have selling prices of $15, $47.25, and $110, respectively. The investor has up to
$50,000 to invest.

33) The stockbroker suggests limiting the investments so that no more than $10,000 is invested in
stock 2 or the total number of shares of stocks 2 and 3 does not exceed 350, whichever is more
restrictive. How would this be formulated as a linear programming constraint?
A) X2 ≤ 10000
X2 + X3 ≤ 350
B) 10,000 X2 ≤ 350X2 + 350X3
C) 47.25X2 ≤ 10,000
X2 + X3 ≤ 350
D) 47.25X2 ≤ 10,000
47.25 X2 + 110X3 ≤ 350

34) An appropriate part of the model would be:

A) 15X1 + 47.25X2 + 110 X3 ≤ 50,000.
B) MAX 15X1 + 47.25X2 + 110X3.
C) X1 + X2 +X3 ≤ 50,000.
D) MAX 50(15)X1 + 50 (47.25)X2 + 50 (110)X3.

35) The expected returns on investment of the three stocks are 6%, 8%, and 11%. An appropriate
objective function is:
A) MAX .06X1 +.08X2 +.11X3.
B) MAX .06(15)X1 +.08(47.25)X2 +.11(110)X3.
C) MAX 15X1 + 47.25X2 +.110X3.
D) MAX (1/.06)X1 +.(1/08)X2 + (1/.11)X3.
 ELM416 - DSS - Prof. Dr. Tarek H. Abou-El-Enien

36) The investor stipulates that stock 1 must not account for more than 35% of the number of
shares purchased. Which constraint is correct?
A) X1 ≤ 0.35
B) X1 = 0.35 (50000)
C) X1 ≤ 0.35(X1 + X2 + X3)
D) X1 = 0.35(X1 + X2 + X3)

ABC123
45 records are produced by Jackson Enterprises at three different locations, 1, 2, and 3, and shipped
to three sales centers named A, B and C. Company creative director Michael is unconcerned with
efficiency, but operations manager Tito wishes to move the product as inexpensively as possible.
The cost to transport one crate from each source to each destination is indicated in the table. as
well as the demand at each sales center and the supply at each manufacturing facility.

A B C Total
Supply
1 $5 $6 $7 320
2 $6 $9 $8 420
3 $7 $4 $6 520
Total 400 400 460
demand

37) Which of these is an appropriate constraint for the problem?

A) x1A + x1B +x1C = 320
B) x1A + x2A +x3A = 320
C) x3A + x3B +x3C = 460
D) x1B + x2B +x3B = 420

38) What is the optimal answer to this problem?

A) $7202
B) $7120
C) $7220
D) $7320