Chapter 3

Linear Programming: Computer Solution and Sensitivity Analysis

1) The reduced cost (shadow price) for a positive decision variable is 0.

Answer:

TRUE

2) When the right-hand sides of 2 constraints are both increased by 1 unit, the value of the objective function
will be adjusted by the sum of the constraints' prices.
Answer:

FALSE

3) When a linear programming problem is solved using a computer package decision variables will always be integer
and therefore decision variable values never need to be rounded.
Answer:

FALSE

4) Sensitivity ranges can be computed only for the right hand sides of constraints. Answer: FALSE
5) Sensitivity analysis determines how a change in a parameter affects the optimal solution.
Answer:

TRUE

6) The sensitivity range for an objective function coefficient is the range of values over which the current optimal
solution point (product mix) will remain optimal.
Answer:

TRUE

7) The sensitivity range for an objective function coefficient is the range of values over which the profit does not
change.
Answer:

FALSE

8) The sensitivity range for a constraint quantity value is the range over which the shadow price is valid.
Answer:

TRUE

9) If we change the constraint quantity to a value outside the sensitivity range for that constraint quantity, the shadow
price will change.
Answer:

TRUE

10)

The sensitivity range for a constraint quantity value is the range over which the optimal values of the

decision variables do not change.

Answer:

FALSE

11)Linear programming problems are restricted to decisions in a single time period. Answer: FALSE
12)
Answer:

A maximization problem may be characterized by all greater than or equal to constraints.

FALSE

13)

A change in the value of an objective function coefficient will always change the value of the optimal

solution.
Answer:
14)
Answer:

FALSE
The terms reduced cost, shadow price, and dual price all mean the same thing.
TRUE

15)

Sensitivity analysis can be used to determine the effect on the solution for changing several parameters

at once.
Answer:

FALSE

16)

For a profit maximization problem, if the allowable increase for a coefficient in the objective function is

infinite, then profits are unbounded.

Answer:
17)
Answer:

FALSE
The reduced cost (shadow price) for a positive decision variable is

zero

18)

The sensitivity range for a is the range of values over which the

quantity values can change without changing the shadow price

Answer:

constraint quantity Diff: 2

19)
Answer:

is the analysis of the effect of parameter changes on the optimal solution.

Sensitivity analysis

20) The sensitivity range for a constraint quantity value is also the range over which the
is valid.
Answer:

shadow price

21)

The sensitivity range for an

coefficient is the range of

values over which the current optimal solution point (product mix) will remain optimal.
Answer:

objective function

Consider the following linear program, which maximizes profit for two products, regular (R), and super (S):
MAX 50R + 75S
s.t.
1.2R + 1.6 S 600 assembly (hours) 0.8R + 0.5 S
300 paint (hours)
.16R + 0.4 S 100 inspection (hours)
Sensitivity Report:

Cell

Name

$B$7
$C$7

Regular =
Super =

Cell

Name

$E$3 Assembly (hr/unit)

$E$4 Paint (hr/unit)
$E$5 Inspect (hr/unit)

Final
Value
291.67
133.33

Final
Value
563.33
300.00
100.00

Reduced
Cost

Objective
Coefficient

Allowable
Increase

Allowable
Decrease

0.00
0.00

50
75

70
50

20
43.75

Shadow
Price

Constraint
R.H. Side

Allowable
Increase

Allowable
Decrease

600
300
100

1E+30
39.29
12.94

36.67
175
40

0.00
33.33
145.83

22) The optimal number of regular products to produce is

of super products to produce is -------- for

, and the optimal number

Answer:

$50.

the total profit of ------------------Answer:

291.67, 133.33, $24,583

25)If downtime reduced the available capacity for painting by

40 hours (from 300 to 260 hours), profits would be reduced

23)If the company wanted to increase the

available hours for one of their

by
Answer:

.
$1,333

constraints (assembly, painting, or

inspection ) by 2 hours, they should
increase .
Answer:
24)

Inspection
The profit on the super

product could increase by without

affecting the product mix.

26)

change

in

the

market

has

increased the profit on the super product by $5. Total

profit will increase by
Answer:

$667

Tracksaws, Inc. makes tractors and lawn mowers. The firm makes a profit of $30 on each tractor and $30 on each lawn
mower, and they sell all they can produce. The time requirements in the machine shop, fabrication, and tractor assembly
are given in the table.

Formulation:
Let

x = number of tractors produced per period

y = number of lawn mowers produced per period MAX 30x +

30y
subject to 2 x + y

60

2 x + 3y
x

120

45

The graphical solution is shown below.

27)

How many tractors and saws should be produced to maximize profit, and how much profit will they

make?
Answer:
28)
Answer:
29)
Answer:

15 tractors and 30 saws for $1,350 in profit

Determine the sensitivity range for the profit for tractors.
20 x 60
What is the shadow price for assembly?
0

30)
Answer:

What is the shadow price for fabrication?

$7.50

31)

What is the maximum amount a manager would be willing to pay for one additional hour of machining

time?
Answer:
32)

$1357.50 - $1350 = $7.50

A breakdown in fabrication causes the available hours to drop from 120 to 90 hours. How will this

impact the optimal number of tractors and mowers produced?

Answer:
33)

x = 22.5, y = 15, Z = 1125, so profits will fall by $1350 - $1125 = $225.

What is the range for the shadow price for assembly?

Answer:

allowable decrease = 45 - 15 = 30, and allowable increase is .

The production manager for the Whoppy soft drink company is considering the production of 2
kinds of soft drinks: regular (R) and diet (D). The company operates one "8 hour" shift per day.
Therefore, the production time is 480 minutes per day. During the production process, one of the
main ingredients, syrup is limited to maximum production capacity of 675 gallons per day.
Production of a regular case requires 2 minutes and 5 gallons of syrup, while production of a diet
case needs 4 minutes and 3 gallons of syrup. Profits for regular soft drink are $3.00 per case and
profits for diet soft drink are $2.00 per case.
The formulation for this problem is given below.
MAX Z = $3R + $2D
s.t.
2R + 4D 480
5R + 3D 675

The sensitivity report is given below

34)

What is the optimal daily profit?

Answer: $420
35)

How many cases of regular and how many cases of diet soft drink should Whoppy produce to maximize

daily profit?
Answer:
36)
Answer:
37)

90 cases of regular and 75 cases of diet

What is the sensitivity range for the per case profit of a diet soft drink?
1.8 c2 6.0
What is the sensitivity range of the production time? Answer:
270 b1 900

38)

if the company decides to increase the amount of syrup it uses during production of these soft drinks to 990

lbs. will the current product mix change? If show what is the impact on profit? Answer: Yes., Increase in profit =
0.57(990 - 675) = $180
Mallory furniture buys 2 products for resale: big shelves (B) and medium shelves (M). Each big shelf
costs $500 and requires 100 cubic feet of storage space, and each medium shelf costs $300 and
requires 90 cubic feet of storage space. The company has $75000 to invest in shelves this week,
and the warehouse has 18000 cubic feet available for storage. Profit for each big shelf is $300 and
for each medium shelf is $150.Graphically solve this problem and answer the following questions.
39)

What is the optimal product mix and maximum profit?

Answer:

150 big shelves and no medium shelves.

Profit = $45,000

40)
Answer:

Determine the sensitivity range for the profit on the big shelf.
the range is from $250

to infinity

41)If the Mallory Furniture is able to increase the profit per medium shelf to
$200, would the company purchase medium shelves. If so, what would be the
new product mix and the total profit?
Answer:

yes, Big = 90, Medium = 100 Z = $47,000

The linear programming problem whose output follows is used to determine how many bottles of fire red nail polish (x1),
bright red nail polish (x2), basil green nail polish(x3), and basic pink nail polish(x4) a beauty salon should stock. The
objective function measures profit; it is assumed that every piece stocked will be sold. Constraint 1 measures display space
in units, constraint 2 measures time to set up the display in minutes. Note that green nail polish does not require any time
to prepare its display. Constraints 3 and 4 are marketing restrictions. Constraint 3 indicates that the maximum demand for
fire red and green polish is 25 bottles, while constraint 4 specifies that the minimum demand for bright red, green and pink
nail polish bottles combined is at least 50 bottles.
MAX 100x1 + 120x2 + 150x3 + 125x4

Subject to

1.

x1 + 2x2 + 2x3 + 2x4 108 2. 3x1 +

5x2 + x4 120
3. x1 + x3 25
4. x2 + x3 + x4 50 x1, x2 ,
x3, x4 0

Optimal Solution:
Objective Function Value = 7475.000

Objective Coefficient Ranges

Right Hand Side Ranges

42)

How much space will be left unused? How many minutes of idle time remaining for setting up the

display?
Answer:
43)

0, 63
a)

To what value can the per bottle profit on fire red nail polish drop before the solution

(product mix) would change?

b)

By how much can the per bottle profit on green basil nail polish increase before the solution (product

mix) would change?

Answer:
44)

a) 87.5, b) 12
a)By how much can the amount of space decrease before there is a change in the profit?

b) By how much can the amount of space decrease before there is a change in the product mix?
c)

By how much can the amount of time available to setup the display can increase before the solution (product
mix) would change?

d) What is the lowest value for the amount of time available to setup the display before the solution (product
mix) would change?
Answer:

a) 0 b) 8 c) 0

d) 57

45)

You are offered the chance to obtain more space. The offer is for 15 units and the total price is $1500.

What should you do? Why?

Answer:

reject the offer, (11 x 15) = 1125 < 1500

46)

Max Z = 5x1 + 3x2

Subject to:

6x1 + 2x2 18
15x1 + 20x2 60
x1 + x2 0

Determine the sensitivity range for each constraint.

Answer:

constraint 1: 6 - 24

constraint 2:

45 - 180

47)

Max Z = 5x1 + 3x2

Subject to:

6x1 + 2x2 18
15x1 + 20x2 60
x1 + x2 0

Determine the sensitivity range for each objective function coefficient. Answer:

x1:

2.25 - 9.0 and, x2: 1.667 - 6.667

48)

Max

Subject to:

Z = 3x1 + 3x2

10x1 + 4x2 60
25x1 + 50x2 200
x1 , x2 0

Determine the sensitivity range for each objective function coefficient. Answer:

x1:

1.5 - 7.5 and, x2: 1.2 - 6.0

49)

For a maximization problem, assume that a constraint is binding. If the original amount of a resource is 4

lbs., and the range of feasibility (sensitivity range) for this constraint is from 3 lbs. to 6 lbs., increasing the amount
of this resource by 1 lb. will result in the:
A) same product mix, different total profit
B) different product mix, same total profit as before
C) same product mix, same total profit
D) different product mix, different total profit Answer:
A
50)

A plant manager is attempting to determine the production schedule of various products to maximize

profit. Assume that a machine hour constraint is binding. If the original amount of machine hours available is 200
minutes., and the range of feasibility is from 130 minutes to 340 minutes, providing two additional machine hours
will result in:
A) the same product mix, different total profit

B) a different product mix, same total profit as before

C) the same product mix, same total profit
D) a different product mix, different total profit Answer: D
The production manager for Beer etc. produces 2 kinds of beer: light (L) and dark (D). Two resources used to produce
beer are malt and wheat. He can obtain at most 4800 oz of malt per week and at most 3200 oz of wheat per week
respectively. Each bottle of light beer requires 12 oz of malt and 4 oz of wheat, while a bottle of dark beer uses 8 oz of
malt and 8 oz of wheat. Profits for light beer are $2 per bottle, and profits for dark beer are $1 per bottle.
51)If the production manager decides to produce of 0 bottles of light beer and 400 bottles of dark beer, it will result
in slack of
A) malt only
B) wheat only
C) both malt and wheat
D) neither malt nor wheat Answer:
A
52) Which of the following is not a feasible solution?
A) 0 L and 0 D
B) 0 L and 400 D
C) 200 L and 300 D
D) 400 L and 400 D
Answer:

What is the optimal weekly profit?

A) $1000 B) $900 C) $800 D) $700 E) $600
Answer:

Mallory Furniture buys 2 products for resale: big shelves (B) and medium shelves (M). Each big shelf costs $500 and
requires 100 cubic feet of storage space, and each medium shelf costs $300 and requires 90 cubic feet of storage space. The
company has $75000 to invest in shelves this week, and the warehouse has 18000 cubic feet available for storage. Profit for
each big shelf is
$300 and for each medium shelf is $150.
53)

Which of the following is not a feasible purchase combination?

A) 0 big shelves and 200 medium shelves

B) 0 big shelves and 0 medium shelves
C) 150 big shelves and 0 medium shelves
D) 100 big shelves and 100 medium shelves Answer:
D

54)If the Mallory Furniture company decides to purchase 150 big shelves and no medium shelves, which of the
two resources will be left over?
A) investment money only
B) storage space only
C) investment money and storage space
D) neither investment money nor storage space Answer: B

The production manager for the Whoppy soft drink company is considering the production of 2 kinds of soft drinks: regular
and diet. The company operates one "8 hour" shift per day. Therefore, the production time is 480 minutes per day. During
the production process, one of the main ingredients, syrup is limited to maximum production capacity of 675 gallons per
day. Production of a regular case requires 2 minutes and 5 gallons of syrup, while production of a diet case needs 4 minutes
and 3 gallons of syrup. Profits for regular soft drink are $3.00 per case and profits for diet soft drink are $2.00 per case.
55)

Which of the following is not a feasible production combination?

a)90 R and 75 D

b)135 R and 0 D

c)0 R and 120 D

d)75 R and 90

D
e)50 R and 50 D
Answer:

56)

For the production combination of 135 regular cases and 0 diet cases, which resource is completely

used up (at capacity)?

a) only time

b)only syrup c)time and syrup

d)neither time nor syrup

Answer:B
57)

The sensitivity range for the profit on a regular case of soda is

A. $2 to $3

B.$2 to $4

C.$1 to $3

D. $1 to $3.33

Answer:D
58)

Which of the following could not be a linear programming problem constraint?

A. A + B -3

B. A - B -3

C.A - B 3

D. A + B -3

E. -A + B -3
Answer:

59)

Use the constraints given below and determine which of the following points is feasible.

(1) 14x + 6y 42
(2) x - y 3
A) x = 1; y = 5 B) x = 2; y = 2 C) x = 2; y = 8 D) x = 2; y = 4 E) x = 3; y = .5

Answer:

60)

For the constraints given below, which point is in the feasible region of this minimization problem?

1) 14x+6y <= 42
2) X+3y>= 6
A) x = 0; y = 4
Answer:

B) x = 2; y = 5

C) x = 1; y = 2

D) x = 2; y = 1 E) x = 2; y = 3

61)

What combination of x and y is a feasible solution that minimizes the value of the objective function ?

Min Z = 3x + 15y
(1) 2x + 4y 12 (2) 5x + 2y
10
A) x = 0; y = 3 B) x = 0; y = 5 C) x = 5; y = 0 D) x = 6; y = 0 E) x = 4; y = 1
Answer:

62)

A shadow price reflects which of the following in a maximization problem?

A) the marginal gain in the objective that would be realized by adding 1 unit of a resource
B) the marginal gain in the objective that would be realized by subtracting 1 unit of a resource
C) the marginal cost of adding additional resources
D) the marginal gain of selling one more unit
Answer:

63)

Given the following linear programming problem:

Max Z = 15x + 20 y s.t.

8x + 5y 40 4x + y 4
What would be the values of x and y that will maximize revenue?
A) x = 5; y = 0 B) x = 0; y = 8 C) x = 0; y = 1 D) x = 1; y = 0 E) x = 3; y = 4
Answer:
64)

Given the following linear program that maximizes revenue:

Max Z = 15x + 20 y s.t.

8x + 5y 40 4x + y 4
65)

What is the maximum revenue at the optimal solution?

A) $120
Answer:

B) $160

C) $185

D) $200

Given the following linear programming problem that minimizes cost. Min Z = 2x + 8y
Subject to

(1) 8x + 4y 64

(2) 2x + 4y 32
(2) y 2
66)

Determine the optimum values for x and y.

A) x = 2; y = 6

B) x = 6; y = 2

C) x = 12; y = 2

D) x = 2; y = 2

E) x = 6; y =

5
Answer:

67)

At the optimal solution the minimum cost is:

A) $30

B) $40

Answer:
68)

C) $50

E) $53.33

What is the sensitivity range for the cost of x?

a) 0 to 2 b) 4 to 6
b) Answer:
69)

D) $52

c) 2 to 4

d) 0 to 4

What is the sensitivity range for the third constraint, y 2?

a) 0 to 4 b) 2 to 5.33
Answer:

c) 0 to 5.33

d) 4 to 6.33

70)

For a maximization problem, the shadow price

measures the

in the value of the optimal solution, per unit increase

for a given

a) decrease, resource

b)increase, parameter

objective function coefficient

Answer:

c)improvement, resource

d)change,

e) decrease, parameter

71)

Sensitivity analysis is the analysis of the

effect of

changes on the

a)price, company
Answer:
72)

b)cost, production

c)parameter, optimal solution

.
d)none of the above

C
For a linear programming problem, assume that a given resource has not been fully used. We can

conclude that the shadow price associated with that constraint:

a)will have a positive value b)will have a negative value c)will have a value of zero
d) could have a positive, negative or a value of zero. (no sign restrictions)
Answer:

73)

For a resource constraint, either its slack value must be

A) negative, negative
B) negative, zero
C) zero, zero
D) zero, negative
Answer: C

or its shadow price must be .

Aunt Anastasia operates a small business: she produces seasonal ceramic objects to sell to tourists. For the spring, she is
planning to make baskets, eggs, and rabbits. Based on your discussion with your aunt you construct the following table.

Your aunt also has committed to make 25 rabbits for a charitable organization. Based on the information in the table, you
formulate the problem as a linear program.
B = number of baskets produced E = number of
eggs produced
R = number of rabbits produced MAX 2.5B +
1.5E + 2R
s.t.
0.5 B + 0.333E + 0.25R 20 B + E + R 50
0.25B + 0.333E + 0.75R 80 R 25
The Excel solution and the answer and sensitivity report are shown below.
The Answer Report:

The Sensitivity Report:

74)

Which additional resources would you recommend that Aunt Anastasia try to obtain?

a) mix/mold

b) kiln c) paint and seal

d)demand

e)Cannot tell from the

information provided
Answer:

75)

Suppose the charitable organization contacted Aunt Anastasia and told her that they had overestimated the

amount of rabbits they needed. Instead of 25 rabbits, they need 35. How would this affect Aunt Anastasia's profits?

a) Profits would increase by $5.

B)Profits would decrease by $5 c)Profits would

increase by $2.50
c) Profits would decrease by $2.50
Answer:

e)Cannot tell from the information provided.

76)

Aunt Anastasia feels that her prices are too low, particularly for her eggs. How much would her profit

have to increase on the eggs before it is profitable for her to make and sell eggs?

A) $0.50 B) $1.00 C) $1.50 D) $2.50 E) None of the above

Answer:

77)

Aunt Anastasia's available hours for paint and seal have fallen from 80 hours to 60 hours because of

other commitments. How will this affect her profits?

A)Profits will decrease by $30. B) Profits will increase by $30. C) Profits will decrease by
$20.
D) Profits will increase by $20. E) Profits will not change.
Answer:
78)

E
Aunt Anastasia can obtain an additional 10 hours of kiln capacity free of charge from a friend. If she

did this, how would her profits be affected?

a)Profit would increase by $25. B)Profits would decrease by $25. C) Profits would
increase by $6.25.
d) Profits would decrease by $6.25 e)Cannot tell from the information provided.
Answer:

79)

Aunt Anastasia is planning for next spring, and she is considering making only 2 products. Based on the

results from the linear program, which two products would you recommend that she make?

a) baskets and eggs

b)baskets and rabbits

c)eggs and rabbits d)She should

continue to make all 3.

e) Cannot tell from the information provided.
Answer:

Billy's Blues sells 3 types of T-shirts:

Astro, Bling, and Curious.

Manufacturing

requires 2 minutes of machine time, 20 minutes of labor, and costs $10.

Brand Bling requires

2..5 minutes of machine time, 30 minutes of labor, and costs $14 to produce. Brand
requires 3 minutes of machine time, 45 minutes of labor, and costs $18 to produce.
machining hours available

Astros
Curious

There are 300

per week, 3,750 labor hours, and he has a budget of $3,000. Brand

Astro sells for $15, Brand Bling for $18, and Brand Curious for $25.
The LP formulation that maximizes week profit shown below.
MAX 15A +18B + 25 C
s.t.
2A + 2.5B + 3C 300
20A + 30B + 45C 3,750
10A + 14B + 18C 3,000
The solution from QM for Windows is show below.

80)

If Billy could acquire more of any resource, which would it be?

a) machining time
Answer:

b) labor timec) money

d) buyers

81)If one of Billy's machines breaks down, it usually results in about 6 hours of downtime. When this happens,
Billy's profits are reduced by

A) $15
Answer:

B)18 C) $25

D) $35

82)

Billy's accountant made an error, and the budget has been reduced from $3000 to $2500. Billy's profit

will go down by

A) $0

B) $625

Answer:

C) $1350

D) $1650

83) Billy has decided that he can raise the price on the Curious t-shirt by 10% without losing sales. If he raises the
price, his profits will

a) increase by 10%
$125
Answer:

b)decrease by 10% c) increase by $2.50

d) increase by