Math Problem Statement

In Example 2 we saw that Airbus A330-300s seat 330 passengers and cost $260 million each, while Boeing 767-300ERs seat 270 passengers and cost $220 million each, with Boeing Dreamliner 787-9s seat 240 passengers and cost $290 million each. You are the purchasing manager of an airline company and have a spending goal of $5,530 million for the purchase of new aircraft to seat a total of 5,820 passengers. Your company has a policy of supporting U.S. industries, and you have been instructed to buy twice as many Boeings as Airbuses. Given the selection of three aircraft, how many of each should you order?

Solution

To solve this problem, let's define the variables and set up the equations based on the given data.

Variables:

  1. Let xx represent the number of Airbus A330-300s.
  2. Let yy represent the number of Boeing 767-300ERs.
  3. Let zz represent the number of Boeing Dreamliner 787-9s.

Information given:

  1. Seating capacity and cost per aircraft:

    • Airbus A330-300 seats 330 passengers and costs $260 million.
    • Boeing 767-300ER seats 270 passengers and costs $220 million.
    • Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 seats 240 passengers and costs $290 million.
  2. Constraints:

    • Total seating capacity required: 5,820 passengers.
    • Total spending goal: $5,530 million.
    • The company has a policy of buying twice as many Boeings as Airbuses, meaning y+z=2xy + z = 2x.

Equations:

  1. Passenger capacity equation: 330x+270y+240z=5820330x + 270y + 240z = 5820

  2. Cost equation: 260x+220y+290z=5530260x + 220y + 290z = 5530

  3. Boeing-to-Airbus ratio (policy) equation: y+z=2xy + z = 2x

With these equations, we can solve for xx, yy, and zz to find the required number of each aircraft type.

I'll proceed with solving this system of equations.from sympy import symbols, Eq, solve

Define variables

x, y, z = symbols('x y z')

Define equations based on the problem statement

eq1 = Eq(330x + 270y + 240z, 5820) # Passenger capacity equation eq2 = Eq(260x + 220y + 290z, 5530) # Cost equation eq3 = Eq(y + z, 2*x) # Boeing-to-Airbus ratio equation

Solve the system of equations

solution = solve((eq1, eq2, eq3), (x, y, z)) solution{x: 7, y: 5, z: 9}{x: 7, y: 5, z: 9}successThe solution to the problem is:

  • Airbus A330-300s: 7 units
  • Boeing 767-300ERs: 5 units
  • Boeing Dreamliner 787-9s: 9 units

This configuration meets both the seating and budget requirements while following the policy of purchasing twice as many Boeing aircraft as Airbuses.

Would you like a breakdown of the calculations or further explanation on any part?

Related Questions:

  1. How would the solution change if the seating capacity requirement increased by 10%?
  2. What if the budget was decreased by $500 million—how would that affect the quantities?
  3. If a new type of aircraft was introduced with different specifications, how would that affect the calculations?
  4. What other configurations could potentially meet the requirements if the policy constraint was relaxed?
  5. How would fluctuations in aircraft prices impact the purchasing decision?

Tip:

When solving linear systems with multiple variables, organizing the information into equations based on constraints simplifies finding a solution systematically.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Algebra
Systems of Linear Equations

Formulas

Passenger capacity equation: 330x + 270y + 240z = 5820
Cost equation: 260x + 220y + 290z = 5530
Boeing-to-Airbus ratio equation: y + z = 2x

Theorems

Solving systems of linear equations

Suitable Grade Level

Undergraduate level