MATH 1003 Calculus and Linear Algebra (Lecture 8)

Albert Ku

HKUST Mathematics Department

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 1 / 22

Outline

1 Applications of Gauss-Jordan Elimination

2 Tank Car Leases

3 Traffic Flow

4 Boat Production

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 2 / 22

 Applications of Gauss-Jordan Elimination

Applications of Gauss-Jordan Elimination

A lot of problems in real life can be modelled by systems of linear

equations. In this lecture, we will study three different application
problems which can be solved by applying Gauss-Jordan elimination on the
systems of linear equations that formulate the problems.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 3 / 22

 Tank Car Leases

Tank Car Leases

Example
A chemical manufacturer wants to lease a fleet of 24 railroad tank cars
with a combined carrying capacity of 520,000 gallons. Tank cars with three
different carrying capacities are available: 8,000 gallons, 16,000 gallons,
and 24,000 gallons. How many of each type of tank car should be leased?

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 4 / 22

 Tank Car Leases

Solution
To formulate the problem, we first need to define relevant quantities as
variables:

Let x1 be the number of tank cars with a capacity of 8,000 gallons

Let x2 be the number of tank cars with a capacity of 16,000 gallons
Let x3 be the number of tank cars with a capacity of 24,000 gallons

Given the criteria stated in the problem, we can obtain the following linear
system: (
x1 + x2 + x3 = 24
8000x1 + 16000x2 + 24000x3 = 520000
The corresponding augmented matrix is
 
1 1 1 24
8000 16000 24000 520000

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 5 / 22

 Tank Car Leases

  1
 
1 1 1 24 R →R2
8000 2 1 1 1 24
−→
8000 16000 24000 520000 1 2 3 65
   
R2 +(−1)R1 →R2 1 1 1 24 R1 +(−1)R2 →R1 1 0 −1 −17
−→ −→
0 1 2 41 0 1 2 41

The linear system corresponding to the reduced form is


x1 − x3 = −17
x2 + 2x3 = 41

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 6 / 22

 Tank Car Leases

Since x3 is the free variable, we let x3 = t, where t is any real number.

Then the general solution can be written as follows:

x1 = −17 + t

x2 = 41 − 2t

x3 = t


where t is any real number.

However, the definitions of x1 , x2 and x3 imply that the solutions must be

non-negative integers. Therefore, we need to derive the possible range of
values of t such that the general solution make sense for this problem:

−17 + t ≥ 0

41 − 2t ≥ 0

t ≥0


and t must be an integer.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 7 / 22
 Tank Car Leases

Solving the inequalities, we finally obtain all the relevant solutions to the
linear system: 
x1
 = −17 + t
x2 = 41 − 2t

x3 =t


where t is any integer such that 17 ≤ t ≤ 20.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 8 / 22

 Traffic Flow

Traffic Flow
Example
The rush-hour traffic flow for a network of for one-way streets in a city is
shown in the figure. The numbers next to each street indicate the number
of vehicles per hour that enter and leave the network on that street. The
variable x1 , x2 , x3 and x4 represent the flow of traffic between the four
intersections in the network.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 9 / 22

 Traffic Flow

(a) For a smooth traffic flow, the number of vehicles entering each
intersection should always equal the number leaving. For example,
since 1000 vehicles enter the intersection of 1st Street and 3rd Street
each hour and x1 + x3 vehicles leave this intersection, we see that
x1 + x3 = 1000. Find the equations determined by the traffic flow at
each of the other three intersections.
(b) Find the solution to the system in (a).
(c) What is the maximum number of vehicles that can travel from 3rd
Street to 4th Street on 1st Street? What is the minimum number?
(d) If traffic lights are adjusted so that 700 vehicles per hour travel from
3rd Street to 4th Street on 1st Street, determine the flow around the
rest of the network.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 10 / 22

 Traffic Flow

Solution for (a)

For each of the four intersections, the number of vehicles entering the
intersection equals the number leaving. Therefore, we have


 x1 + x4 = 1100
x1 + x3 = 1000


 x2 + x3 = 1100
x2 + x4 = 1200


Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 11 / 22

 Traffic Flow

Solution for (b)

We use Gauss-Jordan elimination to solve the linear system in (a):

   
1 0 0 1 1100 1 0 0 1 1100
 1
 0 1 0 1000   0 0
 −→  1 −1 −100 

 0 1 1 0 1100   0 1 1 0 1100 
0 1 0 1 1200 0 1 0 1 1200
   
1 0 0 1 1100 1 0 0 1 1100
 0 1 1 0 1100   0 1 1 0 1100 
−→  −→  
 0 0 1 −1 −100   0 0 1 −1 −100 
0 1 0 1 1200 0 0 −1 1 100
 
1 0 0 1 1100
 0 1 0 1 1200 
−→  
 0 0 1 −1 −100 
0 0 0 0 0
Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 12 / 22
 Traffic Flow

The linear system corresponding to the reduced form is


 x1 + x4 = 1100
x2 + x4 = 1200
x3 − x4 = −100


x4 is the free variable. Hence let x4 = t and we have the following general
solution: 


 x1 = 1100 − t

x
2 = 1200 − t


 x3 = −100 + t

x
4 =t
where t is any real number.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 13 / 22

 Traffic Flow

Similar to the previous example, the solution makes sense only when
x1 , x2 , x3 and x4 are non-negative integers. Therefore, we have



 1100 − t ≥ 0

1200 − t ≥ 0


 100 + t ≥0

t ≥0

and t is an integer. Solving the inequalities, we obtain the all the relevent
solutions: 


 x1 = 1100 − t

x = 1200 − t
2


 x3 = −100 + t

x = t
4

where t is any integer such that 100 ≤ t ≤ 1100.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 14 / 22

 Traffic Flow

Solution for (c) and (d)

(c) By the result from (b), we know that x1 = 1100 − t and t is any
integer such that 100 ≤ t ≤ 1100. Therefore, the maximum value of
x1 is 1000 and the minimum value of x1 is 0.
(d) Set x1 = 700. By the result from (b), 700 = x1 = 1100 − t. Hence
t = 400 and we have



 x1 = 700

x = 1200 − 400 = 800
2


 x3 = −100 + 400 = 300

x = 400
4

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 15 / 22

 Boat Production

Boat Production

Example
A small manufacturing plant makes three types of inflatable boats:
one-person, two-person, and four-person models. Each boat requires the
services of three departments, as listed in the table. The cutting, assembly
and packaging departments have available a maximum of 380, 330 and
120 labor-hours per week, respectively.

Department One-Person Two-Person Four-Person

Boat Boat Boat
Cutting 0.5hr 1.0hr 1.5hr
Assembly 0.6hr 0.9hr 1.2hr
Packaging 0.2hr 0.3hr 0.5hr

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 16 / 22

 Boat Production

(a) How many boats of each type must be produced each week for the
plant to operate at full capacity?
(b) How is the production schedule in part (a) affected if the packaging
department is no longer used?
(c) How is the production schedule in part (a) affected if the four-person
boat is no longer produced?

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 17 / 22

 Boat Production

Solution for (a)

Let x1 , x2 and x3 be the number of one-person boats, two-person boats

and four-person boats produced each week respectively.

According to the given table, we have the following linear system:


0.5x1 + x2 + 1.5x3
 = 380
0.6x1 + 0.9x2 + 1.2x3 = 330

0.2x1 + 0.3x2 + 0.5x3 = 120


Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 18 / 22

 Boat Production

   
0.5 1 1.5 380 1 2 3 760
 0.6 0.9 1.2 330  −→  2 3 4 1100 
0.2 0.3 0.5 120 2 3 5 1200
   
1 2 3 760 1 2 3 760
−→  0 −1 −2 −420  −→  0 1 2 420 
0 −1 −1 −320 0 0 1 100
   
1 0 −1 −80 1 0 0 20
−→  0 1 2 420  −→  0 1 0 220 
0 0 1 100 0 0 1 100

Therefore, the solution is x1 = 20, x2 = 220 and x3 = 100.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 19 / 22

 Boat Production

Solution for (b)

If the packaging department is no longer used, we should drop the last

equation in the linear system i.e. the corresponding augmented matrix
should be  
0.5 1 1.5 380
0.6 0.9 1.2 330
Using the steps of Gauss-Jordan elimination in (a), we obtain
 
1 0 −1 −80
0 1 2 420

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 20 / 22

 Boat Production

Since x3 is the free variable, Let x3 = t and hence the general solution is

x1 = −80 + t

x2 = 420 − 2t

x3 = t


where t is any integer such that 80 ≤ t ≤ 210.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 21 / 22

 Boat Production

Solution for (c)

If the four-person boat is no longer produced, we should drop the variable

x3 in the linear system i.e. the corresponding augmented matrix should be
 
0.5 1 380
 0.6 0.9 330 
0.2 0.3 120

Using the steps of Gauss-Jordan elimination in (a), we obtain

 
1 2 760
 0 1 420 
0 0 100

Therefore, the linear system has no solution.

Albert Ku (HKUST) MATH 1003 22 / 22