Aunt Anastasia Operates a Small Business: She Produces Seasonal Ceramic

question 94

Multiple Choice

Aunt Anastasia operates a small business: she produces seasonal ceramic objects to sell to tourists. For the spring, she is planning to make baskets, eggs, and rabbits. Based on your discussion with your aunt you construct the following table:
$$\begin{array} { l c c c c } \text { Product } & \begin{array} { c } \text { Mix/mold } \\\text { requirements (lb) }\end{array} & \begin{array} { c } \text { Kiln } \\\text { (units) }\end{array} & \begin{array} { c } \text { Paint \& Seal } \\\text { (hr) }\end{array} & \begin{array} { c } \text { Profit/product } \\\text { (\$) }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Baskets } & 0.500 & 1 & 0.250 & \$ 2.50 \\\text { Eggs } & 0.333 & 1 & 0.333 & \$ 1.50 \\\text { Rabbits } & 0.250 & 1 & 0.750 & \$ 2.00 \\\text { Capacity } & 20 \text { pounds } & 50 \text { units } & 80 \text { hours } & \\\hline\end{array}$$ Your aunt also has committed to make 25 rabbits for a charitable organization. Based on the information in the table, you formulate the problem as a linear program.
B = number of baskets produced
E = number of eggs produced
R = number of rabbits produced
MAX 2.5B + 1.5E + 2R
s.t.
0.5B + 0.333E + 0.25R ≤ 20
B + E + R ≤ 50
0.25B + 0.333E + 0.75R ≤ 80
R ≥ 25
The Excel solution and the answer and sensitivity report are shown below.
The Answer Report:
$\begin{array}{l}\text { Target Cell (Max) }\\\begin{array}{cccc}\hline \text { Cell } & \text { Name } & \begin{array}{c}\text { Original } \\\text { Value }\end{array} & \text { Final Value } \\\hline \$ C \$ 21 & \text { Profit } & 0 & \$ 112.5\end{array}\end{array}$

$\text { Adjustable Cells }$
$\begin{array}{cccc}\text { Cell } & \text { Name } & \begin{array}{c}\text { Original } \\\text { Value }\end{array} & \text { Final Value } \\\hline \$ C \$ 18 & \text { Baskets } & 0 & 25 \\\hline\$ C \$ 19 & \text { Eggs } & 0 & 0 \\\hline\$ C \$ 20 & \text { Rabbits } & 0 & 25\\\hline\end{array}$

$\text { Constraints }$
$\begin{array}{cccccc}\hline\text { Cell } & \text { Name } & \text { Cell Value } & \text { Formula } & \text { Status } & \text { Slack } \\\hline & & & & \text { Not } & \\\text { \$G\$13 } & \text { Mix/mold } & 18.75 & \text { \$G\$13<=\$F\$13 } & \text { Binding } & 1.25 \\\hline\text { \$G\$14 } & \text { Kiln } & 50 & \text { \$G\$14<=\$F\$14 } & \text { Binding } & 0 \\\hline & & & & & \text { Not } \\\text { \$G\$15 } & \text { Paint and Seal } & 25 & \text { \$G\$15<=\$F\$15 } & \text { Binding } & 55 \\\hline \text { \$G\$16 } & \text { Demand } & 25 & \text { \$G\$16>=\$F\$16 } & \text { Binding } & 0\end{array}$ The Sensitivity Report:
$\text { Adjustable Cells }$
$\begin{array}{ccccccc}\hline\text { Cell } & \text { Name } & \begin{array}{c}\text { Final } \\\text { Value }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Reduced } \\\text { Cost }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Objective } \\\text { Coefficient }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Allowable } \\\text { Increase }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Allowable } \\\text { Decrease }\end{array} \\\hline \$ C \$ 18 & \text { Baskets } & 25 & 0 & 2.5 & 1 \mathrm{E}+30 & 0.5 \\\hline \text { \$C\$19 } & \text { Eggs } & 0 & -1 & 1.5 & 1 & 1 \mathrm{E}+30 \\\hline \text { \$C\$20 } & \text { Rabbits } & 25 & 0 & 2 & 0.5 & 1 \mathrm{E}+30\end{array}$


$\text { Constraints }$
$\begin{array}{ccccccc}\hline\text { Cell } & \text { Name } & \begin{array}{c}\text { Final } \\\text { Value }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Shadow } \\\text { Price }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Constraint } \\\text { R.H. Side }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Allowable } \\\text { Increase }\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Allowable } \\\text { Decrease }\end{array} \\\hline \$ G \$ 13 & \text { Mix/mold } & 18.75 & 0 & 20 & 1 \mathrm{E}+30 & 1.25 \\\hline \$ G \$ 14 & \text { Kiln } & 50 & 2.5 & 50 & 2.5 & 25 \\\hline \$ G \$ 15 & \text { Paint and Seal } & 25 & 0 & 80 & 1 \mathrm{E}+30 & 55 \\\hline \text { \$G } \$16 & \text { Demand } & 25 & -0.5 & 25 & 25 & 5 \\\hline\end{array}$
-Aunt Anastasia can obtain an additional 10 hours of kiln capacity free of charge from a friend. If she did this, how would her profits be affected?

• A) Profit would increase by $25.
• B) Profits would decrease by $25.
• C) Profits would decrease by $6.25.
• D) Cannot tell from the information provided.

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Definitions:

Capital Structure

The manner in which a firm’s assets are financed; that is, the right side of the balance sheet. Capital structure is normally expressed as the percentage of each type of capital used by the firm such as debt, preferred stock, and common equity.

ROE

Return on Equity, a measure of financial performance calculated by dividing net income by shareholders' equity.

Debt-to-Total-Assets Ratio

A measure of a company's financial leverage calculated by dividing its total liabilities by its total assets, showing what portion of the assets is financed by debt.

Net Income

The remaining earnings of a business following the deduction of all expenses and tax liabilities from its total revenue.