Question: The Kalo Fertilizer Company makes a fertilizer using two chemicals that provide nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. A pound of ingredient 1 contributes 10 ounces of nitrogen and 6 ounces of phosphate, while a pound of ingredient 2 contributes 2 ounces of nitrogen, 6 ounces of phosphate, and 1 ounce of potassium. Ingredient 1 costs $3 per pound, and ingredient 2 costs $5 per pound. The company wants to know how many pounds of each chemical ingredient to put into a bag of fertilizer to meet the minimum requirements of 20 ounces of nitrogen, 36 ounces of phosphate, and 2 ounces of potassium while minimizing cost.
(1) Formulate a cost minimization linear programming model for this problem.
(2) Solve this model by using graphical method (the objective function approach).
(3) Solve the model by using the Enumeration approach.
(4) Analyze slack/surplus for each constraint.