Question:
A ship has two cargo holds, one fore and one aft. The fore cargo hold has a weight capacity of 70,000 pounds and a volume capacity of 30,000 cubic feet. The aft hold has a weight capacity of 90,000 pounds and a volume capacity of 40,000 cubic feet. The shipowner has contracted to carry loads of packaged beef and grain. The total weight of the available beef is 85,000 pounds; the total weight of the available grain is 100,000 pounds. The volume per mass of the beef is 0.2 cubic foot per pound, and the volume per mass of the grain is 0.4 cubic foot per pound. The profit for shipping beef is $0.35 per pound, and the profit for shipping grain is $0.12 per pound. The shipowner is free to accept all or part of the available cargo; he wants to know how much meat and grain to accept to maximize profit.
a. Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.
b. Solve the model by using the computer.