Linear Programming

Linear Programming is the analysis of problems in which a linear function of a number of variables is to
be minimized or maximized when those variables are subject to a number of restraints in the form of
linear inequalities. This technique has found its applications to important areas of blending problems and
diet problems. Oil refineries, chemical industries, steel industries and food processing industry are also
using linear programming with considerable success.

 
What is Linear Programing?
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A linear programming problem may be defined as the problem of maximizing or minimizing a linear
function subject to linear constraints. Linear programming problems involving only two variables can be
effectively solved by a graphical technique which provides a pictorial representation of the solution. 
Rules to Solve Linear Programming
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Below you could see some rules how to solve linear programming:

Step 1. Mark the unknowns in the given linear programming by x and y.

Step 2. Formulate the objective function.

Step 3. Translate all the constraints in the form of equalities.

Step 4. Solve these equalities simultaneously. 

Step 5. Find the values of x and y for which the objective function z = ax + by has maximum or
minimum value (aLimitations of Linear Programming
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Limitations of linear programming are as follows:

 Linear programming treats all relationship as linear. But it is not true in many real life situations.
 The decisions variables in LPP would be meaningful only if they are integers.
 The problems are complex if the number of variables and constraints are quite large.
 Factors such as uncertainty, weather conditions etc. are not taken into consideration.
 Parameters are assumed to be constants but in reality they may not be so.
  LPP deals with only a single objective problem whereas in real life situations, there may be more
than one objective.

Linear Programming Word Problems

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Given below are some of the examples on linear programming.

Solved Examples
Question 1: Solve the following linear program maximize 5x1 + 6x2 subject to
x1 - x2 ≥ 3
5x1 + 4x2 ≤ 35
x1 ≥ 0
x2 ≥ 0
Solution:
It is plain that the maximum occurs at the intersection of
5x1 + 4x2 = 35 and
x1 - x2 = 3

Solving simultaneously, rather than by reading values off the graph, we have that

5(3 + x2) + 4x2 = 35

i.e. 15 + 9x2 = 35

i.e. x2 = 209209 = 2.222 and

x1 = 3 + x2 = 479479 = 5.222

The maximum value is 5(479479) + 6(209209) = 35593559 

= 39.444

Question 2: A carpenter makes tables and chairs. Each table can be sold for a profit of £30 and each
chair for a profit of £10. The carpenter can afford to spend up to 40 hours per week working and takes six
hours to make a table and three hours to make a chair. Customer demand requires that he makes at least
three times as many chairs as tables. Tables take up four times as much storage space as chairs and
there is room for at most four tables each week. Formulate this problem as a linear programming
problem.
Solution:
 
Let
xT = number of tables made per week
xC = number of chairs made per week

Constraints total work time 6xT + 3xC ≤ 40 customer demand xC ≥ 3xT storage space
(xC4xC4) + xT ≤ 4, and xT , xC ≥ 0

Objective maximize 30xT + 10xC

The solution lies at the intersection of

xC4xC4 + xT = 4 and 6xT + 3xC = 40

Solve for xT and xC

xC4xC4 + xT = 4 ................(i)

and 6xT + 3xC = 40 ....................(ii)

From (i), xT = 4 - xC4xC4, put in (ii) 

6( 4 - xC4xC4) + 3xC = 40

=> 24 - 3xC23xC2 + 3xC = 40

=> 24 + 3xC23xC2 = 40

=> 3xC23xC2 = 40 - 24 = 16

or xC = 323323 = 10.667

Plug the value of xC in equation (i)

10.667410.6674 + xT = 4 

xT = 4 - 10.667410.6674 = 1.333

Solving these two equations simultaneously we get xC = 10.667, xT = 1.333.

And the profit = 30xT + 10xC = 30(1.333) + 10(10.667) = £146.667

 
s the case may be).

How Do Restaurants Use Linear Programming for Menu Planning?

Restaurants use linear programming for menu planning. It uses basic algebra to optimize meal production and
thereby increase restaurant profits. Linear algebra reflects a direct relationship between an increase or decrease in
food resources, and an increase or decrease in meal production. For example, if the kitchen has only half its needed
supply of cream base, then it can only prepare half its normal amount of cream soups. Additionally, management
can determine the cost of preparing different menu items to decide how many of each menu item to prepare for
optimal profit.

Step 1
Choose the decision variables that apply. In this example, a restaurant needs to produce 250 of its dinner specials per
day, one with meat and the other vegetarian. The decision variables are the number of meals and the different menu
names (i.e., porterhouse steak and spinach lasagna).

Step 2
Choose the objective for the restaurant. Normally, the objective is to determine how many of each menu item to
prepare that meets the required number of meals yet stays within budget, so this is the objective for the example
shown. However, the objective will be the quantity of physical supplies on hand, if there is a shortage of a particular
ingredient that several menu items use, such as tomato sauce. Then management can determine how to get the
largest number of meals with the quantity of tomato sauce on hand.

Related Reading: Restaurant Menu Writing Guidelines

Step 3
Choose the constraints on menu production, which is the day’s monetary budget to produce a specified number of
meals. For example, a restaurant has a $1,000 budget for that day’s two dinner specials, and it must prepare 250
meals that cost different amounts to prepare. It cannot spend more than $1,000 and still earn a profit.

Step 4
Choose the two dinner specials, such as porterhouse steak and spinach lasagna. For this example, the porterhouse
steak costs $7 to prepare and the lasagna dinner costs $3. The steak is designated as “S” and the lasagna as “L."

Step 5
Calculate how many steak dinners the restaurant can prepare for $1,000: S + L = 250 meals. 7S <= $1,000 S <=
$1,000 / 7 = 142.85 S = 142 meals for $1,000 (The restaurant cannot serve 85/100 of a meal, so that amount is
dropped.)

Step 6
Calculate how many lasagna dinners the restaurant can prepare for $1,000. 3L <= $1,000 L <= $1,000 / 3 = 333.33
L = 333 meals for $1,000

Step 7
Calculate the ratio: 142S divided by 333L = 42 percent (drop the decimals). This means that 42 percent of the meals
should be steak dinners. Conversely, 58 percent of the dinner specials should be spinach lasagna.
 Step 8
Calculate the number of steak dinners the restaurant can prepare on its budget: 142S times 42 percent = 59 steak
dinners (drop the decimals)

Step 9
Calculate the number of spinach lasagna dinners the restaurant can prepare on its budget: 333L times 58 percent =
193 lasagna dinners.

Step 10
Verify the quantity of meals: 59 steak dinners plus 193 lasagna dinners = 252 meals. Since the restaurant only has to
prepare 250 meals, it is under budget, which means increased profit.

Step 11
Verify the cost: 59 steak dinners times $7 equals $413. 193 lasagna dinners times $3 equals $579. $413 + $579 =
$992, which is under budget.

Things Needed
 Calculator

EXAMPLE OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING A manufacturer produces two products, X and Y , with two
machines, A and B. The cost of producing each unit of X is: • for machine A: 50 minutes, • for machine B:
30 minutes. The cost of producing each unit of Y is: • for machine A: 24 minutes, • for machine B: 33
minutes. Working plans for a particular week are: • 40 hours of work on machine A, • 35 hours of work
on machine B.

LINEAR PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 1

PROBLEM NUMBER 1 

A farmer can plant up to 8 acres of land with

wheat and barley. He can earn $5,000 for every
acre he plants with wheat and $3,000 for every
acre he plants with barley. His use of a
necessary pesticide is limited by federal
regulations to 10 gallons for his entire 8 acres.
Wheat requires 2 gallons of pesticide for every
acre planted and barley requires just 1 gallon
per acre. 

What is the maximum profit he can make? 

SOLUTION TO PROBLEM NUMBER 1 

let x = the number of acres of wheat

let y = the number of acres of barley. 

since the farmer earns $5,000 for each acre of wheat and $3,000 for each acre of barley, then
the total profit the farmer can earn is 5000*x + 3000*y. 

let p = total profit that can be earned. your equation for profit becomes: 

p = 5000x + 3000y 

that's your objective function. it's what you want to maximize 

the constraints are:

number of acres has to be greater than or equal to 0.
number of acres has to be less than or equal to 8.
amount of pesticide has to be less than or equal to 10. 

your constraint equations are:

x >= 0
y >= 0
x + y <= 8
2x + y <= 10 

to graph these equations, solve for y in those equations that have y in them and then graph the
equality portion of those equations. 

x >= 0
y >= 0
y <= 8-x
y <= 10 - 2x 

x = 0 is a vertical line that is the same line as the y-axis.

y = 0 is a horizontal line that is the same line as the x-axis. 

Linear programming (LP; also called linear optimization) is a method to achieve the best

outcome (such as maximum profit or lowest cost) in a mathematical model whose requirements
are represented by linearrelationships.

In mathematics, a constraint is a condition of an optimization problem that the solution must

satisfy. There are several types of constraints—primarily equality constraints,
inequality constraints, and integerconstraints. The set of candidate solutions that satisfy
all constraints is called the feasible set.
In mathematical optimization, a feasible region, feasible set, search space, or solution space
is the set of all possible points (sets of values of the choice variables) of an optimization
problem that satisfy the problem's constraints, potentially including inequalities, equalities, and
integer constraints.

The graphical method is a great way to solve a system of equations, and also to check your
work if you are solving the system using elimination or substitution.

Linear Programming

Linear programming deals with problems such as maximising profits, minimising costs or ensuring you
make the best use of available resources. From an applications perspective, mathematical (and
therefore, linear) programming is an optimisation tool, which allows the rationalisation of many
managerial and/or technological decisions. An important factor for the applicability of the mathematical
programming methodology in various contexts, is the computational difficulty of the analytical models.
With the advent of modern computing technology, effective and efficient algorithmic procedures can
provide a systematic and fast solution to these models