Math Problem Statement
Donna De Paul is raising money for the homeless. She discovers that each church group requires 2 hours of letter writing and 1 hour of follow-up, while for each labor union she needs 2 hours of letter writing and 3 hours of follow-up. Donna can raise $150 from each church group and $175 from each union local, and she has a maximum of 16 hours of letter writing and a maximum of 12 hours of follow-up available per month. Determine the most profitable mixture of groups she should contact and the most money she can raise in a month.
Solution
This problem can be solved using linear programming, where we aim to maximize the total amount of money Donna can raise under time constraints. Let's break it down step by step.
Step 1: Define Variables
Let:
- represent the number of church groups Donna contacts.
- represent the number of labor unions Donna contacts.
Step 2: Define the Objective Function
The objective is to maximize the amount of money Donna raises, which is . This is the total money raised, where each church group raises $150 and each labor union raises $175.
Thus, the objective function is:
Step 3: Define the Constraints
Donna has constraints on the available time for letter writing and follow-up:
-
Each church group requires 2 hours of letter writing, and each labor union requires 2 hours of letter writing. Donna can spend a maximum of 16 hours per month on letter writing. So, the constraint is: Simplifying this:
-
Each church group requires 1 hour of follow-up, and each labor union requires 3 hours of follow-up. Donna can spend a maximum of 12 hours per month on follow-up. So, the constraint is:
Additionally, the number of groups Donna contacts cannot be negative:
Step 4: Graph the Feasible Region
We need to graph the system of inequalities to find the feasible region:
The feasible region is the area that satisfies all these inequalities.
Step 5: Find the Corner Points
The corner points of the feasible region are where the constraints intersect. Solving the system of equations, we get:
-
Set and .
Subtract the first equation from the second:
Substitute into :
So, one corner point is .
-
Now, check the other points where the lines intersect with the axes:
- If , from , we get . So, the point is .
- If , from , we get . So, the point is .
The corner points are , , and .
Step 6: Evaluate the Objective Function at the Corner Points
Now we substitute these corner points into the objective function to find the maximum.
-
At :
-
At :
-
At :
Step 7: Conclusion
The maximum value of occurs at , where Donna contacts 6 church groups and 2 labor unions, raising a total of $1250.
Final Answer:
- Donna should contact 6 church groups and 2 labor unions to raise the most money.
- The maximum amount of money she can raise is $1250.
Do you have any questions or would you like more details? Here are 5 related questions to expand this topic:
- How would the solution change if Donna had more follow-up hours available?
- What happens if the amount raised from each church group or labor union changes?
- Can the same method be applied if Donna had more than two types of groups to contact?
- How would the problem change if some
Ask a new question for Free
By Image
Drop file here or Click Here to upload
Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Linear Programming
Inequalities
Optimization
Formulas
Objective Function: Z = 150x + 175y
Constraints: x + y ≤ 8, x + 3y ≤ 12
Non-negativity constraints: x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
Theorems
Corner Point Theorem
System of Inequalities
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 10-12
Related Recommendation
Maximizing Donations Using Linear Programming: Church Groups and Labor Unions
Maximizing Donations with Linear Programming: Church Groups vs Labor Unions
Maximizing Profit in a Linear Programming Model for Product Manufacturing
Maximizing Profit with Linear Programming: Desk Production Optimization
Maximizing Profit in a Manufacturing Optimization Problem with Linear Programming