Womack Report

Getting a late start to this class, because the previous class has people still working on a test. Professor handed back the first set of homework.Still Simplex Method for solving maximization problems.

There’s a flow chart on Page 208, and a differently formatted flow chart of the same process on Page 224. Both of those charts detail how to determine if the simplex method is capable of solving the problem, how to select pivot elements, and then how to know when you’re finished pivoting.

1. Determine if the maximum linear programming problem is in standard form. If it is, goto 3. Else, goto 2.
2. If possible, modify the problem to be in standard form, and goto 3. If standard form is impossible, STOP.
3. Introduce slack variables and set up the simplex tableau. Goto 4.
4. Examine the objective row for negative entries. If there are no negative entries, this is the final tableau, and STOP. If there are negative entries in the row, the smallest entry marks the pivot column. Choose the pivot column, and goto 5.
5. Examine the pivot column for positive entries. If there are no positive entries, the tableau is unbounded and without solution, so STOP. If there are positive entries in the row, goto 6.
6. Determine the pivot element by dividing the RHS entry of each row with a positive element in the pivot column by that positive element; the largest result corresponds to the pivot element. Goto 7.
7. Perform pivot operations around pivot element. Goto 4.