Exam 18: Introduction to Optimization

What do you need to do before using Solver?

A ____________________ contains explicit definitions of the decision variables, an algebraic expression of the objective function, and algebraic statements of the constraints.

A leather goods factory manufactures five styles of handbags, whose variable contributions are $30, $40, $45, $25, and $60 per dozen, respectively. The products must pass through four work centers and the man-hours available in each are: clicking (700), paring (600), stitching (400), and finishing (900). Hourly requirements for each dozen handbags are: To prevent adding to inventory levels already on hand, the production manager, after reviewing the weekly sales forecasts, has specified that no more than 100, 50, 90, 70, and 30 dozen of each style respectively may be produced. Each handbag is made from five materials as specified in the following table: Formulate a linear program to determine the production policy that will maximize profits.

Sensitivity reports show what will happen if certain problem parameters are changed from their current values.

What in Excel Solver corresponds to the objective function in the algebraic model?

When an LP is solved, there is only one possible outcome.

If a firm is using a linear program to determine production amounts of its chairs and tables, which of the following constraints must be in the model?

A caterer must prepare from five fruit drinks in stock exactly 500 gallons of a punch containing at least 20% orange juice, 10% grapefruit juice, and 5% cranberry juice. If inventory data are as shown below, formulate a linear program that can be used to determine the optimal quantity of each fruit drink that the caterer should use to obtain the required composition at minimum total cost.

In Linear Programming (LP) problems, all of the relationships among the variables are linear.

In Solver, the __________ is the cell that you want to maximize or minimize.

Consider the Linear Program below. Which of the choices represents the best (tightest) lower bound? Max 2X + Y Subject to X + Y ≤ 10 X, Y ≥ 0

_________ are limitations or requirements that must be satisfied.

If the solution to an optimization problem violates two constraints but satisfies three, it is a(an) ________.

Which type of constraint does not allow the solution for a decision variable of an optimization problem to be less than zero?

One step in solving optimization problems is to write a problem _______________ in words.

Discuss how the Solver Sensitivity Report is fundamentally different than the other reports.

Constraints that are not at their limits at the optimal solution of a Linear Program, that is, with the left-hand-side value not equal to the right-hand-side value, are called _________________________.

What are the three reports available when Solver has successfully found an optimal solution?

The value of the constraint expression to the left of the ≤, ≥, or = signs is __________.

The process of thinking about a problem in a structured way often leads to ________ to making a better decision.