Operations Research I

Homework 2
Due 11:59 PM Sunday, March 12, 2022

1. (20%) The Oliver company produces beer and ale. Beer sells for $7 per barrel, and
ale sells for $8 per barrel. Producing a barrel of beer requires 5 lb of corn and 3 lb
of hops. Producing a barrel of ale requires 1 lb of corn and 2 lb of hops. Sixty
pounds of corn and 30 lb of hops are available. Formulate an LP that can be used
to maximize revenue. Clearly define decision variables for full credits. (DO
NOT SOLVE.)
2. (20%) A clinic requires different numbers of full-time nurses on different days of
the week as shown in the following table.

Minimum number of nurses required

Monday 20
Tuesday 15
Wednesday 12
Thursday 25
Friday 13
Saturday 16
Sunday 26

According to the new laws, each employee must work four consecutive days
and then receive three days off. For example, a nurse who works Monday to
Thursday must be off from Friday to Sunday. The clinic wants to minimize the
number of nurses that must be hired when daily requirements for nurses are met.
Model this problem as a linear programming problem. Clearly define decision
variables for full credits. (DO NOT SOLVE.)

3. (20%) Lovegood company processes oil into aviation fuel and heating oil. It costs
$45 to purchase each 1,000 barrels of oil, which is then distilled and yields 500
barrels of aviation fuel and 500 barrels of heating oil. Output from the distillation
may be sold directly or processed in the catalytic cracker. If sold after distillation
without further processing, aviation fuel sells for $60 per 1,000 barrels, and
heating oil sells for $50 per 1,000 barrels. It takes 1 hour to process 1,000 barrels
of aviation fuel in the catalytic cracker, and these 1,000 barrels can be sold for
$140. It takes 45 minutes to process 1,000 barrels of heating oil in the cracker, and
these 1,000 barrels can be sold for $100. Each day, at most 25,000 barrels of oil
can be purchased, and 8 hours of cracker time are available. Model this problem
as a linear programming problem to maximize Lovegood’s profits. Clearly define
decision variables for full credits. (DO NOT SOLVE.)
4. (20%) Consider the following linear programming model:

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 (1) (10%) Use the graphical method to solve this model.
(2) (5%) How does the optimal solution change if the objective function is

changed to ?
(3) (5%) How does the optimal solution change if the second functional constraint

is changed to ?

5. (20%) The Potter chemical company produces the drug Rozac from four
chemicals. Today the company must produce 1,000 lb of the drug. The three active
ingredients in Rozac are A, B, and C. By weight, Rozac must consist at least 8%
of A, at least 4% of B, and at least 2% of C. The cost per pound of each chemical
and the amount of each active ingredient in 1 lb of each chemical are given in the
following table.

Chemical Cost ($ per lb) A B C

1 8 .03 .02 .01
2 10 .06 .04 .01
3 11 .10 .03 .04
4 14 .12 .09 .04

It is necessary that at least 100 lb of chemical 2 be used. Formulate an LP whose

solution would determine the cheapest way of producing today’s batch of Rozac.
Clearly define decision variables for full credits. (DO NOT SOLVE.)

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