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How it started?
LEONID KANTOROVICH
The problem of solving a system of linear inequalities dates back at least as far as
Fourier, who in 1827 published a method for solving them and after whom the method of
FourierMotzkin elimination is named. The first linear programming formulation of a
problem that is equivalent to the general linear programming problem was given by
Leonid Kantorovich in 1939, who also proposed a method for solving it. He developed it
during World War II as a way to plan expenditures and returns so as to reduce costs to
the army and increase losses incurred by the enemy. About the same time as
Kantorovich, the Dutch-American economist T. C. Koopmans formulated classical
economic problems as linear programs. Kantorovich and Koopmans later shared the
1975 Nobel prize in economics. In 1941, Frank Lauren Hitchcock also formulated
transportation problems as linear programs and gave a solution very similar to the later
Simplex method; Hitchcock had died in 1957 and the Nobel prize is not awarded
posthumously. During 1946-1947, George B. Dantzig independently developed general
linear programming formulation to use for planning problems in US Air Force. In 1947,
Dantzig also invented the simplex method that for the first time efficiently tackled the
linear programming problem in most cases. When Dantzig arranged meeting with John
von Neumann to discuss his Simplex method, Neumann immediately conjectured the
theory of duality by realizing that the problem he had been working in game theory was
equivalent. Dantzig provided formal proof in an unpublished report "A Theorem on
Linear Inequalities" on January 5, 1948. Postwar, many industries found its use in their
daily planning. Dantzig's original example was to find the best assignment of 70 people
to 70 jobs. The computing power required to test all the permutations to select the best
assignment is vast; the number of possible configurations exceeds the number of
particles in the observable universe. However, it takes only a moment to find the
optimum solution by posing the problem as a linear program and applying the simplex
algorithm. The theory behind linear programming drastically reduces the number of
possible solutions that must be checked. The linear-programming problem was first
shown to be solvable in polynomial time by Leonid Khachiyan in 1979, but a larger
theoretical and practical breakthrough in the field came in 1984 when Narendra
Karmarkar introduced a new interior-point method for solving linear-programming
problems.
100,
x + 2y 14
3x + 4y 36
x
y
3x 2y
2y 3x
(b) x + 2y = 14
2
3
14
3x + 4y = 36
x
12
2y = 3x
x
(ii)
0.8x + 1.2
0.8(0) + 1.2(0)
0.8(12) + 1.2(0)
0.8(8) + 1.2(3)
Answer(s)
0.8(3.5) + 1.2(5.25)
34.3
0
9.6
10
So, the value is 0.8x + 1.2 = k. we put in the value of k as 10 to get the new
equation 8x +12 = 10. We then have to draw a line. The new graph is as
follows;
From the new line, with the aid of a set square, we move it from the new line until
it touches the last point in the feasibility region. The last point is (8,3).
Therefore, the maximum storage is;
k = 0.8(8) + 1.2(3)
= 10
Therefore, the maximum storage volume is 10. To obtain 10, we have to use 8
cabinets of x and 3 cabinets of .
(iii)
Cabinet
x
Total
price of
Balance
money
Cabinet
can be
Total area
Total volume
Final
combination
cabinet
RM 400
purchase
RM 1000
RM 500
RM 600
RM 700
RM 800
RM 900
RM 900
RM 800
RM 700
RM 600
RM 500
100
200
=5
900
=4
200
800
200
=4
700
=3
200
600
200
=3
500
=2
200
(4 0.6) +
(5 0.8)
= 6.4
(5 0.6) +
(4 0.8)
= 6.2
(6 0.6) +
(4 0.8)
= 6.8
(7 0.6) +
(3 0.8)
= 6.6
(8 0.6) +
(3 0.8)
= 7.2
(9 0.6) +
(2 0.8)
=7
(4 0.8) + 4x + 5y
Area = 6.4 m
(5 1.2)
Volume = 9.2 m
= 9.2
(5 0.8) + 5x + 4y
Area = 6.2 m
(4 1.2)
Volume = 8.8 m
= 8.8
(6 0.8) + 6x + 4y
Area = 6.8 m
(4 1.2)
Volume = 9.6 m
= 9.6
(7 0.8) + 7x + 3y
Area = 6.6 m
(3 1.2)
Volume = 9.2 m
= 9.2
(8 0.8) + 8x + 3y
Area = 7.2 m
(3 1.2)
Volume = 10 m
= 10
(9 0.8) + 9x + 2y
Area = 7 m
(2 1.2)
Volume = 9.6 m
= 9.6
iv) Justification
If I was Aaron, I would choose the fifth combination, which is 8 cabinets of x
and 3 cabinets of . My reasons are as follows;
- It uses the maximum space that can be held in the office room,
which is 7.2 metres squared.
- It can store up to 10 cubic metres of file, which is the maximum
storage volume.