Chapter 12 Linear Programming

EXERCISE 12.1

Question 1:
Maximize
Subject to the constraints:

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and is given by

Since, the corner points of the feasible region are and . The value of Z
at these points are as follows:

Corner point

12

16 Maximum
Question 2:
Minimize
Thus, the maximum value of Z is 16 at the point .
Subject to

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the system of constraints, and
, is given by

Since, the corner points of the feasible region are and . The
value of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

Minimum

16

Thus, the minimum value of Z is at the point .

Question 3:
Maximize
Subject to
Solution:
The feasible region determined by the system of constraints and
, is given by

Since, the corner points of the feasible region are and . The
value of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

10

Maximum

Thus, the maximum value of Z is at the point .

Question 4:
Minimize
Subject to
Solution:
The feasible region determined by the system of constraints, and ,
is given by

Since, the feasible region is unbounded, the corner points of the feasible region are

and . The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

7 Minimum

10

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 7 may or may not be the minimum value of Z.
For this, we draw the graph of the inequality, , and check whether the resulting half
plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.

Since, feasible region has no common point with

Thus, the minimum value of Z is 7 at .

Question 5:
Maximize
Subject to

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and , is given
by

Since the corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

15

18 Maximum

10

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 18 at the point .

Question 6:
Minimize
Subject to

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and , is given
by
Since the corner points of the feasible region are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

Since the values of Z at points A and B is same. If we take any other point such as on line
, then .
Thus, the minimum value of Z occurs for more than 2 points.
Thus, the value of Z is minimum at every point on the line, .

Question 7:
Minimize and Maximize
subject to

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and
is given by
Since the corner points of the feasible region are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

300 Minimum

600 Maximum

600 Maximum

400

The minimum value of Z is 300 at and the maximum value of Z is 600 at all the points
on the line segment joining and .

Question 8:
Minimize and Maximize
Subject to

Solution:

The feasible region determined by the constraints, and

is given by
The corner points of the feasible region are .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

100 Minimum

100 Minimum

250

400 Maximum

The maximum value of Z is 400 at and the minimum value of Z is 100 at all the
points on the line segment joining and .

Question 9:
Maximize
subject to the constraints:

Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and , is given
by
Since, the feasible region is unbounded, the values of Z at corner points and
are as follows:

Corner point

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, may or may not be the maximum value.
For this, we graph the inequality, , and check whether the resulting half plane has
points in common with the feasible region or not.

The resulting feasible region has points in common with the feasible region.

Thus, is not the maximum value.

Therefore, Z has no maximum value.

Question 10:
Maximize
Subject to
Solution:
The feasible region determined by the constraints, and , is given
by

There is no feasible region and thus, Z has no maximum value.

 EXERCISE 12.2

Question 1:
Reshma wishes to mix two types of food P and Q in such a way that the vitamin contents of
the mixture contain at least 8 units of vitamin A and 11 units of vitamin B. Food P costs ₹
60/kg and Food Q costs ₹ 80/kg. Food P contains 3 units/kg of vitamin A and 5 units/kg of
vitamin B while food Q contains 4 units/kg of vitamin A and 2 units/kg of vitamin B.
Determine the minimum cost of the mixture.

Solution:
Let the mixture contain x kg of food P and y kg of food Q.

Therefore, and .

The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Vitamin A Vitamin B Cost

(units/kg) (units/kg) (₹/kg)
Food P 3 5 60

Food Q 4 2 80
Requirement
8 11
(units/kg)

The mixture must contain at least 8 units of Vitamin A and 11 units of Vitamin B.
Thus, the constraints are

Total cost, , of purchasing food is

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

Since, the feasible region is unbounded.

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

160
Minimum
160

440

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 160 may or may not be the minimum value of
Z.

For this, we graph the inequality, or and check whether the

resulting half plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.
Since, the feasible region has no common point with

Thus, the minimum cost of the mixture will be ₹ 160 at the line segment joining the points

and .

Question 2:
One kind of cake requires 200g flour and 25g of fat, and another kind of cake requires 100g of
flour and 50g of fat. Find the maximum number of cakes which can be made from 5 kg of flour
and 1 kg of fat assuming that there is no shortage of the other ingredients used in making the
cakes.

Solution:
Let there be x cakes of first kind and y cakes of second kind.

Therefore, and .

The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Flour (g) Fat (g)

Cakes of first kind,
200 25
x
Cakes of second kind,
100 50
y
Availability 5000 1000

Hence,

And

Total number of cakes, Z, that can be made are,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize,
Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The value of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

25

30 Maximum

20

Thus, the maximum number of cakes that can be made are 30 (20 of one kind and 10 of the
other kind).
Question 3:
A factory makes tennis rackets and cricket bats. A tennis racket takes 1.5 hours of machine
time and 3 hours of craftsman’s time in its making while a cricket bat takes 3 hour of machine
time and 1 hour of craftsman’s time. In a day, the factory has the availability of not more than
42 hours of machine time and 24 hours of craftsman’s time.
(i) What number of rackets and bats must be made if the factory is to work at full capacity?
(ii) If the profit on a racket and on a bat is ₹ 20 and ₹ 10 respectively, find the maximum
profit of the factory when it works at full capacity.

Solution:
(i) Let the number of rackets and the number of bats to be made are x and y, respectively.
The machine time is not available for more than 42 hours.
Therefore,

The craftsman’s time is not available for more than 24 hours.

The factory is to work at full capacity.

Therefore,

On solving these equations, we obtain

and

Thus, 4 rackets and 12 bats must be made.

(ii) The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Tennis Racket Cricket Bat Availability

Machine Time (h) 1.5 3 42

Craftsman’s Time (h) 3 1 24

Hence,
The profit on a racket is ₹ 20 and on bat is ₹ 10

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

160

200 Maximum

140
 0

Thus, the maximum profit of the factory when it works to its full capacity is ₹ 200.

Question 4:
A manufacturer produces nuts and bolts. It takes 1 hour of work on machine A and 3 hours on
machine B to produce a package of nuts. It takes 3 hours on machine A and 1 hour on machine
B to produce a package of bolts. He earns a profit, of ₹ 17.50 per package on nuts and ₹ 7.00
per package on bolts. How many packages of each should be produced each day so as to
maximize his profit, if he operates his machines for at the most 12 hours a day?

Solution:
Let the manufacturer produce x packages of nuts and y packages of bolts.
Therefore, and
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Nuts Bolts Availability

Machine A (h) 1 3 12
Machine B (h) 3 1 12

The profit on a package of nuts is ₹ 17.50 and on a package of bolts is ₹ 7.

Therefore, the constraints are

Total profit,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

70

73.5 Maximum

28

The maximum value of Z is ₹ 73.50 at .

Question 5:
A factory manufactures two types of screws, A and B. Each type of screw requires the use of
two machines, an automatic and a hand operated. It takes 4 minutes on the automatic and 6
minutes on hand operated machines to manufacture a package of screws A, while it takes 6
minutes on automatic and 3 minutes on the hand operated machines to manufacture a package
of screws B. Each machine is available for at the most 4 hours on any day. The manufacturer
can sell a package of screws A at a profit of ₹ 7 and screws B at a prof it of ₹ 10. Assuming
that he can sell all the screws he manufactures, how many packages of each type should the
factory owner produce in a day in order to maximize his profit? Determine the maximum profit.

Solution:
Let the factory manufacture x screws of type A and y screws of type B on each day.
Therefore, and
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Screw A Screw B Availability

Automatic Machine (min.) 4 6

Hand Operated Machine (min.) 6 3

The profit on a package of screws A is ₹ 7 and on the package of screws B is ₹ 10.

Therefore, the constraints are

Total profit,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

280

410 Maximum

400

The maximum value of Z is 410 at .

Question 6:
A cottage industry manufactures pedestal lamps and wooden shades, each requiring the use of
a grinding /cutting machine and a sprayer. It takes 2 hours on grinding /cutting machine and 3
hours on the sprayer to manufacture a pedestal lamp. It takes 1 hour on the grinding /cutting
machine and 2 hours on the sprayer to manufacture a shade. On any day, the sprayer is available
for at the most 20 hours and the grinding/cutting machine for at the most 12 hours. The profit
from the sale of a lamp is ₹ 5 and that from a shade is ₹ 3. Assuming that the manufacturer can
sell all the lamps and shades that he produces, how should he schedule his daily production in
order to maximize his profit?
Solution:
Let the cottage industry manufacture x pedestal lamps and y wooden shades.
Therefore, and
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Lamps Shades Availability

Grinding/Cutting Machine (h) 2 1 12

Sprayer (h) 3 2 20

The profit on a lamp is ₹ 5 and on the shades is ₹ 3.

Therefore, the constraints are

Total profit,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

30

32

30

The maximum value of Z is 32 at .

Therefore, the manufacturer should produce 4 pedestal lamps and 4 wooden shades to
maximize his profits.

Question 7:
A company manufactures two types of novelty Souvenirs made of plywood. Souvenirs of type
A require 5 minutes each for cutting and 10 minutes each for assembling. Souvenirs of type B
require 8 minutes each for cutting and 8 minutes each for assembling. There are 3 hours 20
minutes available for cutting and 4 hours of assembling. The profit is ₹ 5 each for type A and
₹ 6 each for type B Souvenirs. How many Souvenirs of each type should the company
manufacture in order to maximize the profit?

Solution:
Let the company manufacture x Souvenirs of type A and y Souvenirs of type B.
Therefore, and .
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Type A Type B Availability

Cutting (min.) 5 8
Assembling (min.) 10 8

The profit on type A Souvenirs is ₹ 5 and type B Souvenirs is ₹ 6.

Therefore, the constraints are

And

Total profit,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

120

160 Maximum

150

The maximum value of Z is 160 at .

Hence, 8 Souvenirs of type A and 20 Souvenirs of type B should be produced each day to get
the maximum profit of ₹ 160.

Question 8:
A merchant plans to sell two types of personal computers − a desktop model and a portable
model that will cost ₹ 25000 and ₹ 40000 respectively. He estimates that the total monthly
demand of computers will not exceed 250 units. Determine the number of units of each type
of computers which the merchant should stock to get maximum profit if he does not want to
invest more than ₹ 70 lakhs and if h is profit on the desktop model is ₹ 4500 and on portable
model is ₹ 5000.

Solution:
Let the merchant stock x desktop models and y portable models.
Therefore, and

The cost of a desktop model is ₹ 25000 and of a portable model is ₹ 4000. However, the
merchant can invest a maximum of ₹ 70 lakhs.

Therefore,

The monthly demand of computers will not exceed 250 units.

Therefore,

The profit on a desktop model is ₹ 4500 and the profit on a portable model is ₹ 5000.

Total profit,

Thus, the mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

1125000

1150000 Maximum

875000

The maximum value of Z is 1150000 at .

Therefore, the merchant should stock 200 desktop models and 50 portable models to get the
maximum profit of ₹ 1150000.

Question 9:
A diet is to contain at least 80 units of vitamin A and 100 units of minerals. Two foods and
are available. Food costs ₹ 4 per unit food and costs ₹ 6 per unit. One unit of food
contains 3 units of vitamin A and 4 units of minerals. One unit of food contains 6 units of
vitamin A and 3 units of minerals. Formulate this as a linear programming problem. Find the
minimum cost for diet that consists of mixture of these two foods and also meets the minimal
nutritional requirements.

Solution:
Let the diet contain x units of food and y units of food F2.
Therefore, and
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Vitamin A Mineral Cost per unit

(units) (units) (₹)
Food F1 (x) 3 4 4
Food F2 (y) 6 3 6
Requirement 80 100

The cost of food is ₹ 4/unit and of food is ₹ 6/unit.

Therefore, the constraints are
Total cost of the diet,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the constraints is given by

Since, the feasible region is unbounded.

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

104 Minimum

200
As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 104 may or may not be the minimum value of
Z.

For this, we draw a graph of the inequality, or , and check whether

the resulting half plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.

Since, the feasible region has no common point with .

Therefore, the minimum cost of the mixture will be ₹ 104.

Question 10:
There are two types of fertilizers and . consists of 10% nitrogen and 6% phosphoric
acid and consists of 5% nitrogen and 10% phosphoric acid. After testing the soil conditions,
a farmer finds that she needs at least 14 kg of nitrogen and 14 kg of phosphoric acid for her
crop. If cost ₹ 6/kg and costs ₹5/kg, determine how much of each type of fertilizer should
be used so that nutrient requirements are met at a minimum cost. What is the minimum cost?

Solution:
Let the farmer buy x kg of fertilizer and y kg of fertilizer .
Therefore, and
The given information can be shown in a table as follows:

Nitrogen Phosphoric Acid Cost

(%) (%) (₹/kg)
F1 (x) 10 6 6
F2 (y) 5 10 5
Requirement (kg) 14 14

consists of 10% nitrogen and consists of 5% nitrogen. However, the farmer requires at
least 14 kg of nitrogen.

Therefore,

consists of 6% phosphoric acid and consists of 10% phosphoric acid.

However, the farmer requires at least 14 kg of phosphoric acid.
Therefore,

Total cost of fertilizers,

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is

Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

Since, the feasible region is unbounded.

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:
 Corner point

1400

1000 Minimum

1400

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 1000 may or may not be the minimum value of
Z.

For this, we draw a graph of the inequality, , and check whether the resulting
half plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.

Since, the feasible region has no common point with .

Thus, 100 kg of fertilizer and 80 kg of fertilizer should be used to minimize the cost.
The minimum cost is ₹ 1000.

Question 11:
The corner points of the feasible region determined by the following system of linear
inequalities:
are and . Let where .
Condition on p and q so that the maximum of Z occurs at both and is
(A) (B) (C) (D)

Solution:
The maximum value of Z is unique.
It is given that the maximum value of Z occurs at two points, and .
Therefore, Value of Z at Value of Z at

Thus, the correct option is (D).

 MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE

Question 1:
Refer to Example 9 (Diet problem) A dietician has to develop a special diet using two foods P
and Q. Each packet (containing 30 g) of food P contains 12 units of calcium, 4 units of iron, 6
units of cholesterol and 6 units of vitamin A. Each packet of the same quantity of food Q
contains 3 units of calcium, 20 units of iron, 4 units of cholesterol and 3 units of vitamin A.
The diet requires at least 240 units of calcium, at least 460 units of iron and at most 300 units
of cholesterol.
How many packets of each food should be used to maximize the amount of vitamin A in the
diet? What is the maximum amount of vitamin A in the diet?

Solution:
Let the diet contain x and y packets of foods P and Q respectively.

Thus, and

The mathematical formulation of the given problem is as follows.

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

150

285 Maximum

228

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 285 at .

Hence, to maximize the amount of Vitamin A in the diet, 40 packets of Food P and 15 packets
of Food Q should be used.

Thus, the maximum amount of Vitamin A in the diet is 285 units.

Question 2:
A farmer mixes two brands P and Q of cattle feed. Brand P, costing ₹ 250 per bag contains 3
units of nutritional element A, 2.5 units of element B and 2 units of element C. Brand Q costing
₹ 200 per bag contains 1.5 units of nutritional elements A, 11.25 units of element B, and 3
units of element C. The minimum requirements of nutrients A, B and C are 18 units, 45 units
and 24 units respectively. Determine the number of bags of each brand which should be mixed
in order to produce a mixture having a minimum cost per bag? What is the minimum cost of
the mixture per bag?
Solution:
Let the farmer mix x bags of brand P and y bags of brand Q.
The given information can be given in a table as follows:

Vitamin A Vitamin B Cost

(units/kg) (units/kg) (₹/kg)
Food P 3 5 60
Food Q 4 2 80
Requirement
8 11
(units/kg)

The given problem can be formulated as follows:

Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of at these corner points are as follows:
 Corner point

4500

2650

1950 Minimum

2400

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 1950 may or may not be the minimum value of
Z.
For this, we draw a graph of the inequality, or , and check
whether the resulting half plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.

Since, the feasible region has no common point with .

Thus, the minimum value of Z is 1950 at .

Therefore, 3 bags of brand P and 6 bags of brand Q should be used in the mixture to minimize
the cost to ₹ 1950.

Question 3:
A dietician wishes to mix together two kinds of food X and Y in such a way that the mixture
contains at least 10 units of vitamin A, 12 units of vitamin B and 8 units of vitamin C. The
vitamin content of one kg food is given below:

Food Vitamin A Vitamin B Vitamin C

X 1 2 3
Y 2 2 1

One kg of food X costs ₹ 16 and one kg of food Y costs ₹ 20. Find the least cost of the mixture
which will produce the required diet?

Solution:
Let the mixture contain x kg of food X and y kg of food Y.
The mathematical formulation of the given problem is as follows:

Minimize
Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

160

112 Minimum

116

160

As the feasible region is unbounded, therefore, 112 may or may not be the minimum value of
Z.
For this, we draw a graph of the inequality, or , and check whether
the resulting half plane has points in common with the feasible region or not.
Since, the feasible region has no common point with .
Thus, the minimum value of Z is 112 at .

Therefore, the mixture should contain 2 kg of food X and 4 kg of food Y. The minimum cost
of the mixture is ₹ 112.

Question 4:
A manufacturer makes two types of toys A and B. Three machines are needed for this purpose
and the time (in minutes) required for each toy on the machines is given below:

Machines
Types of Toys
I II III
A 12 8 6
B 6 0 9

Each machine is available for a maximum of 6 hours per day. If the profit on each toy of type
A is ₹ 7.50 and that on each toy of type B is ₹ 5, show that 15 toys of type A and 30 of type B
should be manufactured in a day to get maximum profit.

Solution:
Let x and y toys of type A and type B respectively be manufactured in a day.
The given problem can be formulated as follows:

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

150

250

262.5 Maximum

200

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 262.5 at .

Hence, the manufacturer should manufacture 15 toys of type A and 30 toys of type B to
maximize the profit.

Question 5:
An aeroplane can carry a maximum of 200 passengers. A profit of ₹ 1000 is made on each
executive class ticket and a profit of ₹ 600 is made on each economy class ticket. The airline
reserves at least 20 seats for executive class. However, at least 4 times as many passengers
prefer to travel by economy class than by the executive class.
Determine how many tickets of each type must be sold in order to maximize the profit for the
airline. What is the maximum profit?

Solution:
Let the airline sell x tickets of executive class and y tickets of economy class.
The mathematical formulation of the given problem is as follows.

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point
68000

136000 Maximum

128000

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 136000 at .

Therefore, 40 tickets of executive class and 160 tickets of economy class should be sold to
maximize the profit and the maximum profit is ₹ 136000.

Question 6:
Two godowns A and B have grain capacity of 100 quintals and 50 quintals respectively. They
supply to 3 ration shops, D, E and F whose requirements are 60, 50 and 40 quintals
respectively. The cost of transportation per quintal from the godowns to the shops are given in
the following table:

Transportation cost per quintal (₹/kg)

From/To A B
D 6 4
E 3 2
F 2.50 3

How should the supplies be transported in order that the transportation cost is minimum? What
is the minimum cost?

Solution:
Let godown A supply x and y quintals of grain to the shops D and E, respectively.
Then, will be supplied to shop F.

The requirement at shop D is 60 quintals since x quintals are transported from godown A.
Therefore, the remaining quintals will be transported from godown B.

Similarly, quintals and quintals will be transported from

godown B to shop E and F respectively.

The given problem can be represented diagrammatically as follows:

Thus,
and
and
And
and
and

Total transportation cost Z is given by

The given problem can be formulated as

Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

560

620

610

510 Minimum

Thus, the minimum value of Z is 510 at .

Thus, the minimum cost is ₹ 510.

Question 7:
An oil company has two depots A and B with capacities of 7000 L and 4000 L respectively.
The company is to supply oil to three petrol pumps, D, E and F whose requirements are 4500L,
3000L and 3500L respectively. The distance (in km) between the depots and the petrol pumps
is given in the following table:

Distance (in km)

From/To A B
 D 7 3
E 6 4
F 3 2

Assuming that the transportation cost of 10 litres of oil is ₹ 1 per km, how should the delivery
be scheduled in order that the transportation cost is minimum? What is the minimum cost?

Solution:
Let x and y litres of oil be supplied from A to the petrol pumps, D and E. Then,
will be supplied from A to petrol pump F.

The requirement at petrol pump D is 4500 L. Since x L are transported from depot A, the
remaining L will be transported from petrol pump B.

Similarly, L and L will be transported from depot

B to petrol pump E and F respectively.

The given problem can be represented diagrammatically as follows:

Thus,
and
and
And
and
and

Cost of transporting 10 L of petrol in ₹

Cost of transporting 1 L of petrol in ₹

Therefore, total transportation cost is given by,

The problem can be formulated as follows.
Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the constraints is given by

The corner points of the feasible region are
and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

5000

5300

5550

5450

4400 Minimum

Thus, the minimum value of Z is 4400 at .

Therefore, the minimum transportation cost is ₹ 4400.

Question 8:
A fruit grower can use two types of fertilizer in his garden, brand P and brand Q. The amounts
(in kg) of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and chlorine in a bag of each brand are given in
the table. Tests indicate that the garden needs at least 240 kg of phosphoric acid at least 270
kg of potash and at most 310 kg of chlorine.
If the grower wants to minimize the amount of nitrogen added to the garden, how many bags
of each brand should be used? What is the minimum amount of nitrogen added in the garden?

Kg per bag
Brand P Brand Q
Nitrogen 3 3.5
Phosphoric Acid 1 2
Potash 3 1.5
Chlorine 1.5 2

Solution:
Let the fruit grower use x bags of brand P and y bags of brand Q.
The problem can be formulated as follows.
Minimize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

595

550

470 Minimum

Thus, the minimum value of Z is 470 at .

Therefore, 40 bags of brand P and 100 bags of brand Q should be added to the garden to
minimize the amount of nitrogen.
Hence, the minimum amount of nitrogen added to the garden is 470 kg.

Question 9:
Refer to question 8. If the grower wants to maximize the amount of nitrogen added to the
garden, how many bags of each brand should be added? What is the maximum amount of
nitrogen added?

Solution:
Let the fruit grower use x bags of brand P and y bags of brand Q.
The problem can be formulated as follows.

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .
The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

595 Maximum

550

470

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 595 at .

Hence, 140 bags of brand P and 50 bags of brand Q should be used to maximize the amount
of nitrogen.

Thus, the maximum amount of nitrogen added to the garden is 595 kg.

Question 10:
A toy company manufactures two types of dolls, A and B. Market tests and available resources
have indicated that the combined production level should not exceed 1200 dolls per week and
the demand for dolls of type B is at most half of that for dolls of type A. Further, the production
level of dolls of type A can exceed three times the production of dolls of other type by at most
600 units. If the company makes profit of ₹ 12 and ₹ 16 per doll respectively on dolls A and
B, how many of each should be produced weekly in order to maximize the profit?

Solution:
Let x and y be the number of dolls of type A and B respectively that are produced per week.
The given problem can be formulated as follows.

Maximize

Subject to the constraints,

The feasible region determined by the system of constraints is given by

The corner points are and .

The values of Z at these corner points are as follows:

Corner point

7200

15000

16000 Maximum

Thus, the maximum value of Z is 16000 at .

Hence, 800 and 400 dolls of type A and type B should be produced respectively to get the
maximum profit of ₹ 16000.