Working with chemists at Virginia Tech and George Washington Universities, landscape contractor Kenneth Golding blended his own fertilizer, calling it 'Golding-Grow.' It consists of four chemical compounds, C-30, C-92, D-21, E-11. The cost per pound for each compound is indicated as follows:
Chemical Compound Cost Per Pound ($)
C-30 .12
C-92 .09
D-21 .11
E-11 .04
The specifications for Golding-Grow are as follows: (1) E-11 must constitute at least 15% of the blend, (2) C-92 and C-30 must together constitute at least 45% of the blend, (3) D-21 and C-92 can together constitute no more than 30% of the blend; and (4) Golding-Grow is packaged and sold in 50 pound bags.
A) Formulate an LP problem to determine what blend of the four chemicals will allow Golding to minimize the cost of a 50 pound bag of the fertilizer.
B) Solve using the computer LP approach.