A store sells two types of toys, A and B.

The store owner pays $8 and $14 for each one unit of
toy A and B respectively. One unit of toys A yields a profit of $2 while a unit of toys B yields a
profit of $3. The store owner estimates that no more than 2000 toys will be sold every month
and he does not plan to invest more than $20,000 in inventory of these toys. How many units of
each type of toys should be stocked in order to maximize his monthly total profit profit?

Solution to Example 1

Let x be the total number of toys A and y the number of toys B; x and y cannot be

negative, hence

x ≥ 0 and y ≥ 0

The store owner estimates that no more than 2000 toys will be sold every month

x + y ≤ 2000

One unit of toys A yields a profit of $2 while a unit of toys B yields a profit of $3, hence

the total profit P is given by

P=2x+3y

The store owner pays $8 and $14 for each one unit of toy A and B respectively and he

does not plan to invest more than $20,000 in inventory of these toys

8 x + 14 y ≤ 20,000

What do we have to solve?

Find x and y so that P = 2 x + 3 y is maximum under the conditions

⎧⎩⎨⎪⎪⎪⎪ x≥0 x≥0 x+y≤2000 8x+14y≤20,000{ x≥0 x≥0 x+y≤2000 8x+14y≤20,
000
The solution set of the system of inequalities given above and the vertices of the region
obtained are shown below:

Vertices of the solution set:

A at (0 , 0)
B at (0 , 1429)
C at (1333 , 667)
D at (2000 , 0)
Calculate the total profit P at each vertex
P(A) = 2 (0) + 3 ()) = 0
P(B) = 2 (0) + 3 (1429) = 4287
P(C) = 2 (1333) + 3 (667) = 4667
P(D) = 2(2000) + 3(0) = 4000
The maximum profit is at vertex C with x = 1333 and y = 667.
Hence the store owner has to have 1333 toys of type A and 667 toys of type B in order to
maximize his profit.

A company produces two types of tables, T1 and T2. It takes 2 hours to produce the parts of
one unit of T1, 1 hour to assemble and 2 hours to polish.It takes 4 hours to produce the parts of
one unit of T2, 2.5 hour to assemble and 1.5 hours to polish. Per month, 7000 hours are
available for producing the parts, 4000 hours for assembling the parts and 5500 hours for
polishing the tables. The profit per unit of T1 is $90 and per unit of T2 is $110. How many of
each type of tables should be produced in order to maximize the total monthly profit?

Solution to Example 2

Let x be the number of tables of type T1 and y the number of tables of type T2. Profit

P(x , y) = 90 x + 110 y

⎧⎩⎨⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪⎪ x≥0 x≥0 2x+4y≤7000 x+2.5y≤4000 2x+1.5y≤5500{ 
x≥0 x≥0 2x+4y≤7000 x+2.5y≤4000 2x+1.5y≤5500

A at (0,0)

B at (0,1600)

C at (1500,1000)

D at (2300,600)

E at (2750,0)
Evaluate profit P(x,y) at each vertex

A at (0,0) : P(0 , 0) = 0

B at (0,1600) : P(0 , 1600) = 90 (0) + 110 (1600) = 176000

C at (1500,1000) : P(1500,1000) = 90 (1500) + 110 (1000) = 245000

D at (2300,600): P(2300,600) = 90 (2300) + 110 (600) = 273000

E at (2750,0) : P(2750,0) = 90 (2750) + 110 (0) = 247500

The maximum profit of $273000 is at vertex D. Hence the company needs to produce

2300 tables of type T1 and 600 tables of type T2 in order to maximize its profit

An airline offers coach and first-class tickets. For the airline to be profitable, it must sell a minimum of 25 first-class
tickets and a minimum of 40 coach tickets. The company makes a profit of $225 for each coach ticket and $200 for
each first-class ticket. At most, the plane has a capacity of 150 travelers. How many of each ticket should be sold in
order to maximize profits?

Solution

The first step is to identify the unknown quantities. We are asked to find the number of each ticket that should be
sold. Since there are coach and first-class tickets, we identify those as the unknowns. Let,

x = # of coach tickets

y = # of first-class tickets

Next, we need to identify the objective function. The question often helps us identify the objective function. Since the
goal is the maximize profits, our objective is identified.

Profit for coach tickets is $225. If

x coach tickets are sold, the total profit for these tickets is 225x.

Profit for first-class tickets is $200. Similarly, if

y  first class tickets are sold, the total profit for these tickets is 200y.

The total profit, P, is

P = 225x + 200y

We want to make the value of

as large as possible, provided the constraints are met. In this case, we have the following constraints:
  Sell at least 25 first-class tickets
 Sell at least 40 coach tickets
 No more than 150 tickets can be sold (no more than 150 people can fit on the plane)

We need to quantify these.

 At least 25 first-class tickets means that 25 or more should be sold. That is, y ≥≥ 25
 At least 40 coach tickets means that 40 or more should be sold. That is, x ≥≥ 40
 The sum of first-class and coach tickets should be 150 or fewer. That is x + y ≤≤ 150

Thus, the objective function along with the three mathematical constraints is:

Objective Function: P = 225x + 200y

Constraints: y ≥≥ 25; x  ≥≥ 40; x + y ≤≤ 150

e will work to think about these constraints graphically and return to the objective function afterwards. We will thus
deal with the following graph:

Note that we are only interested in the first quadrant, since we cannot have negative tickets.

We will first plot each of the inequalities as equations, and then worry about the inequality signs. That is, first plot,

x= 25

y = 40

x + y = 150

The first two equations are horizontal and vertical lines, respectively. To plot x + y= 150, it is preferable to find the
horizontal and vertical intercepts.

To find the vertical intercept, we let

x = 0:
y= 150
Giving us the point (0,150)

To find the horizontal intercept, we let

y = 0:
x = 150

Giving us the point (150,0)

Plotting all three equations gives:

Our next task is to take into account the inequalities.

We first ask, when is y ≥≥ 25? Since this is a horizontal line running through a y-value of 25, anything above this line
represents a value greater than 25. We denote this by shading above the line:

This tells us that any point in the green shaded region satisfies the constraint that
y ≥≥ 25.

Next, we deal with

x ≥≥ 40. We ask, when is the x-value larger than 40? Values to the left are smaller than 40, so we must shade to the
right to get values larger than 40:

The blue area satisfies the second constraint, but since we must satisfy
all constraints, only the region that is green and blue will suffice.

We have one more constraint to consider:

x+ y ≥≥ 150. We have two options, either shade below or shade above. To help us better see that we will, in fact,
need to shade below the line, let us consider an ordered pair in both regions. Selecting an ordered pair above the
line, such as (64, 130) gives:
64 + 130≥≥ 150

Which is a false statement since 64 + 130 = 194, a value larger than 150.

According to the graph, the point (64, 65) is one that falls below the graph. Putting this pair in yields the statement:

64 + 65 ≥≥ 150

Which is a true statement since 64+65 is 129, a value smaller than 150

he objective function along with the three corner points above forms a bounded linear programming problem. That is,
imagine you are looking at three fence posts connected by fencing (black point and lines, respectively). If you were to
put your dog in the middle, you could be sure it would not escape (assuming the fence is tall enough). If this is the
case, then you have a bounded linear programming problem. If the dog could walk infinitely in any one direction, then
the problem is unbounded.

Fundamental Theorem of Linear Programming

1. If a solution exists to a bounded linear programming problem, then it occurs at one of the corner points.
2. If a feasible region is unbounded, then a maximum value for the objective function does not exist.
3. If a feasible region is unbounded, and the objective function has only positive coefficients, then a minimum
value exist

This means we have to choose among three corner points. To verify the “winner,” we must see which of these three
points maximizes the objective function. To find the corner points as ordered pairs, we must solve three systems of
two equations each:

System 1

x  = 40
x + y = 150

System 2

x  = 40
y= 25

System 3

y = 25
x+ y = 150

We could decide to solve by using matrix equations, but these equations are all simple enough to solve by hand:

System 1

(40) + y = 150

y = 110
Point:(40,110)

System 2

Point already given

Point: (40,25)

System 3

x + 25 = 150
x = 125

Point: (125,25)

We test each of these three points in the objective function:

Point Profit

(40,110) 225(40) + 200(110) = $31,000

(40,25) 225(40) + 200(25) = $14,000

(125,25) 225(125) + 200(25) = $33,125

The third point, (125,25) maximizes profit. Therefore, we conclude that the airline should sell 125 coach tickets and
25 first-class tickets in order to maximize profits.

The above example was rather long and had many steps to complete. We will summarize the procedure below:

Solving a Linear Programming Problem Graphically

1. Define the variables to be optimized. The question asked is a good indicator as to what these will be.
2. Write the objective function in words, then convert to mathematical equation
3. Write the constraints in words, then convert to mathematical inequalities
4. Graph the constraints as equations
5. Shade feasible regions by taking into account the inequality sign and its direction. If,

a)A vertical line

≤≤, then shade to the left

≥≥, then shade to the right

b) A horizontal line
≤≤, then shade below
≥≥, then shade above

c) A line with a non-zero, defined slope

≤≤, shade below

≥≥, shade above

6. Identify the corner points by solving systems of linear equations whose intersection represents a corner point.

7. Test all corner points in the objective function. The “winning” point is the point that optimizes the objective function
(biggest if maximizing, smallest if minimizing)

There is one instance in which we must take great caution. First, consider the (true) inequality,

5>3

Suppose we were to divide both sides by –1. Would it still be true to say the following?

5−1>3−15−1>3−1
−5>−3−5>−3

Clearly, –5 is not larger than –3! To kee