CONTENTS 

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PROBLEM    01 – 0003:      A man operates a pushcart. He sells hotdogs and sodas. His
                                                cart can support 210 lbs. A hotdog weighs 2 ounces; a soda
                                                weighs 8 ounces. He knows from experience that he must
                                                have at least 60 sodas and at least 80 hotdogs. He also
                                                knows that for every two hotdogs he sells, he needs at least
                                                one soda. Given he makes 8¢ profit on a hotdog and 4¢
                                                profit on a soda, find how many sodas and hotdogs he must
                                                have in order to maximize profits.
 

                                                            
 
Solution:                    This is a linear programming problem. To solve, make a graph of
                        hotdogs versus soda and find the point that gives the maximum profit.
                        The formula for profit is
                                                $.08 ∙ X + $.04 ∙ Y = profit,
                        where X is the number of hotdogs and Y is the number of sodas sold.
                        Profits are maximized under the following constraints:
                                                (1) 1/2 ∙ Y + 1/8 ∙ X ≤ 210
                                                (2) Y ≥ 60
                                                (3) X ≥ 80
                                                (4) 2Y – X ≥ 0
                        The meaning of the constraints is:
                                    (1) A soda weighs (1 / 2) of a pound, and a hotdog weighs (1 / 8) of
                        a pound and the maximum weight the cart can support is 210 pounds.
                                    (2) He must have at least 60 sodas.
                                    (3) He must have at least 80 hotdogs.
                                    (4) He must have at most twice as many hotdogs as sodas (or in
                                    other terms at least half as many sodas as hotdogs).
                        Now put the restraints into a graph, and, according to the theory of linear
                        programming the maximum profit can be found on a corner of the region
                        determined by the constraints.
                        The shaded region on the above graph is the region which is determined
                        by the constraints. The corners of the region are:
 
A) X = 80 Y = 60
B) X = 120 Y = 60
C) X = 560 Y = 280
D) X = 80 Y = 420
 
                        Now find the maximum profit by substituting the points into the profit
                        Formula
                                    A)        $.08 ∙ 80 + $.04  ∙ 60 = $8.80
                                    B)        $.08 ∙ 120 + $.04 ∙ 60 = $12.00
                                    C)        $.08 ∙ 560 + $.04 ∙ 280 = $56.00
                                    B)        $.08 ∙ 80 + $.04 ∙ 420 = $18.40
                        The maximum profit is obtained at point C. He will take 560 hotdogs and
                        280 sodas to make the maximum profit of $56.00.