Problem 1:

Solution:
Blending Problem:
Problem 2:

Bark's Pet Food Company produces canned cat food called Meow Chow and canned dog food
called Bow Chow. The company produces the pet food from horse meat, ground fish, and a
cereal additive. Each week the company has 600 pounds of horse meat, 800 pounds of
ground fish, and 1,000 pounds of cereal additive available to produce both kinds of pet food.
Meow Chow must be at least half fish, and Bow Chow must be at least half horse meat. The
company has 2,250 16-ounce cans available each week. A can of Meow Chow earns $0.80 in
profit, and a can of Bow Chow earns $0.96 in profit. The company wants to know how many
cans of Meow Chow and Bow Chow to produce each week in order to maximize profit.
Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

Solution:
Step 1. Define the Decision Variables
This problem encompasses six decision variables, representing the amount of each ingredient i in pet
food j:

xij = ounces of ingredient i in pet food j per week, where i = h (horse meat), f (fish), and c (cereal), and j =
m (Meow Chow) and b (Bow Chow)

Step 2. Formulate the Objective Function

Step 3. Formulate the Model Constraints

The first set of constraints represents the amount of each ingredient available each
week. The problem provides these in terms of pounds of horse meat, fish, and cereal
additives. Thus, because the decision variables are expressed as ounces, the ingredient
amounts must be converted to ounces by multiplying each pound by 16 ounces. This
results in these three constraints: Next, there are two recipe requirements specifying
that at least half of Meow Chow be fish and at least half of Bow Chow be horse meat.
The requirement for Meow Chow is formulated as
Next, there are two recipe requirements specifying that at least half of Meow Chow be fish
and at least half of Bow Chow be horse meat. The requirement for Meow Chow is formulated
as

The constraint for Bow Chow is developed similarly:

Finally, the problem indicates that the company has 2,250 16-ounce cans available each
week. These cans must also be converted to ounces to conform to our decision variables,
which results in the following constraint: (2250X16 = 36,000 )
Problem 3:
Solution:
Problem:
Solution:
Problem:

A petroleum company produces three grades of motor oil: super, premium, and extra from three
components. The company wants to determine the optimal mix of the three components in each
grade of motor oil that will maximize profit. The maximum quantities available of each
component and their cost per barrel are as follows:

Component Maximum Barrels Available/Day Cost/Barrel

1 4,500 $12

2 2,700 10

3 3,500 14

To ensure the appropriate blend, each grade has certain general specifications. Each grade must
have a minimum amount of component 1 plus a combination of other components, as follows:

Grade Component Specifications Selling Price/Barrel

Super At least 50% of 1 $23

Not more than 30% of 2

Premium At least 40% of 1 20

Not more than 25% of 3

Extra At least 60% of 1 18

At least 10% of 2

The company wants to produce at least 3,000 barrels of each grade of motor oil.
Decision Variables

The decision variables for this problem must specify the quantity of each of the three
components used in each grade of motor oil. This requires nine decision variables, as follows: x ij
= barrels of component i used in motor oil grade j per day, where i = 1, 2, 3 and j = s (super), p
(premium), e (extra). For example, the amount of component 1 in super motor oil is x 1s. The total
amount of each grade of motor oil will be

The Objective Function

The company's objective is to maximize profit. This requires that the cost of each barrel be
subtracted from the revenue obtained from each barrel. Revenue is determined by multiplying
the selling price of each grade of motor oil by the total barrels of each grade produced. Cost is
achieved by multiplying the cost of each component by the total barrels of each component used:

"Profit" is maximized in the objective function by subtracting cost from revenue.

Model Constraints

This problem has several sets of constraints. The first set reflects the limited amount of each
component available on a daily basis:

x1s + x1p + x1e ≤ 4,500 bbl.

x2s + x2p + x2e ≤ 2,700 bbl.

x3s + x3p + x3e ≤ 3,500 bbl.

The next group of constraints is for the blend specifications for each grade of motor oil. The first
specification is that super contain at least 50% of component 1, which is expressed as

This constraint says that the ratio of component 1 in super to the total amount of super produced,
x1s + x2s + x3s, must be at least 50%. Rewriting this constraint in a form more consistent with
linear programming solution results in

x1s ≥ 0.50(x1s + x2s + x3s)

and

0.50x1s 0.50x2s 0.50x3s ≥ 0

This is the general form a linear programming constraint must be in before you can enter it for
computer solution. All variables are on the left-hand side of the inequality, and only numeric
values are on the right-hand side.

The constraint for the other blend specification for super grade, not more than 30% of component
2, is developed in the same way:

and

0.70x2s - 0.30x1s - 0.30x3s ≤ 0

The two blend specifications for premium motor oil are

60x1p - 0.40x2p - 0.40x3p ≥ 0

0.75x3p - 0.25x1p - 0.25x2p ≤ 0

The two blend specifications for extra motor oil are

0.40x1e - 0.60x2e - 0.60x3e ≥ 0

0.90x2e- 0.10x1e - 0.10x3e ≥ 0

The final set of constraints reflects the requirement that at least 3,000 barrels of each grade be
produced:

x1s + x2s + x3s ≥ 3,000 bbl.

x1p + x2p + x3p ≥ 3,000 bbl.

x1e + x2e + x3e ≥ 3,000 bbl.

Model Summary

The complete linear programming model for this problem is summarized as follows:
Staffing Problem:
Problem:

Solution:
a. Develop a minimum-cost schedule for part-time employees.
Solution:
A fast food restaurant uses full-time and part-time help to meet fluctuating demand during the
day. The following table presents projected need for workers at different times of the day:

Time Workers needed

9:0010:00 4
10:0011:00 5
11:0012:00 9
12:001:00 10
1:002:00 8
2:003:00 4
3:004:00 3
4:005:00 6

There is a maximum of four full-time workers and the other workers are part-time workers. Each
full-time worker is there from 9:00 until 5:00, while the part-time workers will work for 4
consecutive hours at a cost of $4.00 per hour. The cost of the full-time worker is $50 per day.
The company wishes to minimize total cost while meeting the demands. Formulate this as a
linear programming problem. Carefully define all decision variables.

ANSWER: Let P1 = number of part-time workers starting at 9:00

P2 = number of part-time workers starting at 10:00
P3 = number of part-time workers starting at 11:00
P4 = number of part-time workers starting at 12:00
P5 = number of part-time workers starting at 1:00
F = number of full-time workers

Minimize 50F + 16P1 + 16P2 + 16P3 + 16P4 + 16P5

Subject to: F ≤ 4
F + P1  4
F + P1 + P2  5
F + P1 + P2 + P3  9
F + P1 + P2 + P3 + P4  10
F + P2 + P3 + P4 + P5  8
F + P3 + P4 + P5  4
F + P4 + P5  3
F + P5  6
all variables  0
Super City Discount Department Store is open 24 hours a day. The number of cashiers need in each four
hour period of a day is listed below.

Period Cashiers Needed

10 p.m. to 2 a.m. 8

2 a.m. to 6 a.m. 4

6 a.m. to 10 a.m. 7

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 12

2 p.m. to 6 p.m. 10

6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 15

If cashiers work for eight consecutive hours, how many should be scheduled to begin working in each
period in order to minimize the number of cashiers needed?
Let,
TNP = the number of cashiers who begin working at 10 p.m.
TWA = the number of cashiers who begin working at 2 a.m.
SXA = the number of cashiers who begin working at 6 a.m.
TNA = the number of cashiers who begin working at 10 a.m.
TWP = the number of cashiers who begin working at 2 p.m.
SXP = the number of cashiers who begin working at 6 p.m.

Min TNP + TWA + SXA + TNA + TWP + SXP

s.t. TNP + TWA > 4

TWA + SXA > 7
SXA + TNA > 12
TNA + TWP > 10
TWP + SXP > 15
SXP + TNP > 8
all variables > 0
Assignment (Submission: Next Class)

Q1. Agri-Pro is a company that sells agricultural products to farmers in several states. One
service it provides to customers is custom feed mixing, whereby a farmer can order a
specific amount of livestock feed and specify the amount of corn, grain, and minerals the
feed should contain. This is an important service because the proper feed for various farm
animals changes regularly depending on the weather, pasture conditions, and so on. Agri-Pro
stocks bulk amounts of four types of feeds that it can mix to meet a given customer’s
specifications. The following table summarizes the four feeds, their composition of corn,
grain, and minerals, and the cost per pound for each type.

On average, U.S. citizens consume almost 70 pounds of poultry per year. To remain
competitive, chicken growers must ensure that they feed the required nutrients to their
flocks in the most cost-effective manner. Agri-Pro has just received an order from a local
chicken farmer for 8,000 pounds of feed. The farmer wants this feed to contain at least 20%
corn, 15% grain, and 15% minerals. What should Agri-Pro do to fill this order at minimum
cost?

Q2. Chandler Oil has 5000 barrels of crude oil 1 and 10,000 barrels of crude oil 2 available.
Chandler sells gasoline and heating oil. These products are produced by blending the two
crude oils together. Each barrel of crude oil 1 has a “quality level” of 10 and each barrel of
crude oil 2 has a quality level of 5. Gasoline must have an average quality level of at least 8,
whereas heating oil must have an average quality level of at least 6. Gasoline sells for $75
per barrel, and heating oil sells for $60 per barrel. We assume that demand for heating oil
and gasoline is unlimited, so that all of Chandler’s production can be sold. Chandler wants to
maximize its revenue from selling gasoline and heating oil.
Q3. Lawns Unlimited is a lawn care and maintenance company. One of its services is to seed new lawns
as well as bare or damaged areas in established lawns. The company uses three basic grass seed mixes it
calls Home 1, Home 2, and Commercial 3. It uses three kinds of grass seed: tall fescue, mustang fescue,
and bluegrass. The requirements for each grass mix are as follows:

Mix Mix Requirements

Home 1 No more than 50% tall fescue
At least 20% mustang fescue

Home 2 At least 30% bluegrass

At least 30% mustang fescue

No more than 20% tall fescue

Commercial At least 50% but no more than 70% tall
3 fescue
At least 10% bluegrass

The company believes it needs to have at least 1,200 pounds of Home 1 mix, 900 pounds of
Home 2 mix, and 2,400 pounds of Commercial 3 seed mix on hand. A pound of tall fescue
costs the company $1.70, a pound of mustang fescue costs $2.80, and a pound of bluegrass
costs $3.25. The company wants to know how many pounds of each type of grass seed to
purchase to minimize cost.
Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

Suppose, no more than 30% of bluegrass can be used in Commercial 3. What additional constraint is
required to model this situation?

Suppose, tall fescue, mustang fescue, and bluegrass have 10%, 12% and 8% respectively
wastage rate to produce the grass mix. Rewrite all the required constraints and objective
function considering the wastage.
Q4. Larry Edison is the director of the Computer Center for Buckly College. He now needs to
schedule the staffing of the center. It is open from 8 A.M. until midnight. Larry has monitored
the usage of the center at various times of the day, and determined that the following
numbers of computer consultants are required:
Time of Day Minimum Number of Consultants
Required to Be on Duty
8 A.M.–noon 4
Noon–4 P.M. 8
4 P.M.–8 P.M. 10
8 P.M.–midnight 6
Two types of computer consultants can be hired: full-time and part-time. The full-time
consultants work for 8 consecutive hours in any of the following shifts: morning (8 A.M.–4
P.M.), afternoon (noon–8 P.M.), and evening (4 P.M.–midnight). Full-time consultants are paid
$14 per hour. Part-time consultants can be hired to work any of the four shifts listed in the
above table. Part-time consultants are paid $12 per hour.
An additional requirement is that during every time period, there must be at least 2 full-time
consultants on duty for every part-time consultant on duty. Larry would like to determine
how many full-time and how many part-time workers should work each shift to meet the
above requirements at the minimum possible cost.
Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

Q5. Each day, workers at the Gotham City Police Department work two 6-hour shifts chosen
from 12 A.M. to 6 A.M., 6 A.M. to 12 P.M., 12 P.M. to 6 P.M., and 6 P.M. to 12 A.M. The
following number of workers are needed during each shift: 12 A.M. to 6 A.M.—15 workers; 6
A.M. to 12 P.M.—5 workers; 12 P.M. to 6 P.M.—12 workers; 6 P.M. to 12 A.M.—6 workers.
Workers whose two shifts are consecutive are paid $12 per hour; workers whose shifts are
not consecutive are paid $18 per hour. Formulate an LP that can be used to minimize the
cost of meeting the daily workforce demands of the Gotham City Police Department.