Scribd
Upload
2K views

Problem Solving

The document describes three problems involving optimizing production at refineries/mills to minimize costs while meeting orders or maximizing exam points within time constraints. For the first problem, running Refinery 2 for 120 days minimizes total costs of $3,600,000. For the second, running Mill 2 for 311.25 days is the lowest cost of $18,705,000. For the third, answering 30 short questions and 3 essays will earn Michael the most points (210) within the 90 minute time limit.

Uploaded by

Kristine Santander
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2K views

Problem Solving

The document describes three problems involving optimizing production at refineries/mills to minimize costs while meeting orders or maximizing exam points within time constraints. For the first problem, running Refinery 2 for 120 days minimizes total costs of $3,600,000. For the second, running Mill 2 for 311.25 days is the lowest cost of $18,705,000. For the third, answering 30 short questions and 3 essays will earn Michael the most points (210) within the 90 minute time limit.

Uploaded by

Kristine Santander
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

PROBLEM SOLVING

1. A small petroleum company owns two refineries. Refinery 1 costs $25,000 per day to
operate, and it can produce 300 barrels of high-grade oil, 200 barrels of medium-grade oil,
and 150 barrels of low-grade oil each day. Refinery 2 is newer and more modern. It costs
$30,000 per day to operate, and it can produce 300 barrels of high-grade oil, 250 barrels of
medium-grade oil, and 400 barrels of low-grade oil each day. The company has orders
totaling 35,000 barrels of high-grade oil, 30,000 barrels of medium-grade oil, and 40,000
barrels of low-grade oil. How many days should the company run each refinery to minimize
its costs and still meet its orders?

Variability:
X=the number of days to run Refinery 1
Y= the number of days to run Refinery 2

Objective Function:
C= 25,000x + 30,000y

Constraints:
High oil requirement = 300x + 300y > 35,000
Medium oil requirement = 200x + 250y > 30,000
Low oil requirement = 150x + 400y > 40,000

Graphing:

Intersection Points C= 25,000x + 30,000y


(0, 120) 25,000 (0) = 30,000 (120) = 3,600,000
(47.059, 82.353) 25,000 (47.059) = 30,000 (82.353) = 3,647,065
(266.667, 0) 25,000 (266.667) = 30,000 (0) = 6,666,675

Recommendation: The company can achieve the minimum cost when the Refinery 1 will do
its operation in 0 days and refinery 2 will operate in 120 days.
2. A steel company has two mills. Mill 1 costs $70,000 per day to operate, and it can
produce 400 tons of high-grade steel, 500 tons of medium-grade steel, and 450 tons of
low-grade steel each day. Mill 2 costs $60,000 per day to operate, and it can produce 350
tons of high-grade steel, 600 tons of medium-grade steel, and 400 tons of low-grade steel
each day. The company has orders totaling 100,000 tons of high-grade steel, 150,000 tons
of medium-grade steel, and 124,500 tons of low-grade steel. How many days should the
company run each mill to minimize its costs and still fill the orders.

Variability:
X=the number of days to operate mill 1
Y= the number of days to operate mill 2

Objective Function:
P= 70,000x + 60,000y

Constraints:
High-grade steel = 400x + 350y > 100,000
Medium-grade steel = 500x + 600y > 150,000
Low-grade steel = 450x + 450y > 124,000

y-Intercept x-Intercept
400(0)+350y>100,000 400x+350(0)>100,000
350y/350>100,000/350 400x/400>100,000/400
Y=285.71 X=166.67
500(0)+600y>150,000 500x+600(0)>150,000
350y/350>150,000/350 500x/500>150,000/500
Y=250 X=300
450(0)+400y>124,500 450x+400(0)>124,500
400y/400>124,500/400 450x/450>124,500/450
Y=311.25 X=276.67

Graphing:

Intersection Points P= 70,000x + 60,000y


(0, 311.75) 70,000 (0) = 60,000 (311.75) = 18,705,000
(300, 0) 70,000 (300) = 60,000 (0) = 21,000,000
(210, 75) 70,000 (210) = 60,000 (75) = 19,200,000
Recommendation: The Minimum cost will be achieved when the steel company will run the
mill 2 in 311.25 days.

3. Michael is taking an exam in order to become a volunteer firefighter. The exam has 10
essay questions and 50 short questions. He has 90 minutes to take the exam. The essay
questions are worth 20 points each and the short questions are worth 5 points each. An
essay question takes 10 minutes to answer and a short question takes 2 minutes. Michael
must do at least 3 essay questions and at least 10 short questions. Michael knows the
material well enough to get full points on all questions he attempts and wants to maximize
the number of points he will get.

Variability:
X=the number of short questions
Y= the number of essay questions

Objective Function:
P = 5x + 20y

Constraints:
Time encoded to answer = 2x + 10y < 90
Short questions = 10 < x < 50
Essay questions = 3< x < 10
Graphing:

Intersection Points P = 5x + 20y


(10, 3) 5 (10) = 10 (3) = 110
(10, 7) 5 (10) = 10 (7) = 190
(30, 3) 5 (30) = 10 (3) = 210

Recommendation: To get the maximum number of points, Michael needs to answer 30 short
questions and 3 essay questions

You might also like