Linear Programming – From Definitions to Complete PYQ Solutions
Linear Programming is a systematic method of finding the maximum or minimum value of a quantity while following certain conditions. It appears every year in WBCHSE Class 12 exams, and understanding its basic terms makes the entire chapter far easier to master. Before you dive into the questions, it helps to have a clear picture of all the essential definitions — just the way textbooks explain them.
This post gives you a concise set of all important terms used in Linear Programming, followed by a complete collection of solved WBCHSE Class 12 Previous Year Questions from 2015 to 2025. Each problem is presented with graphs, feasible regions, corner points, and final values of Z so that you can revise the chapter thoroughly in one place.
Important Definitions
With these definitions in place, the upcoming section covers all Linear Programming PYQs of WBCHSE Class 12 from 2015 to 2025 — solved step by step with graphs and explanations to strengthen your understanding.
Q1.
Subject to
x + y ≤ 5
x + 2y ≤ 8
4x + 3y ≥ 12
x, y ≥ 0
2. Draw these three lines with the axes in the first quadrant.
3. Check (0, 0): it satisfies x + y ≤ 5 and x + 2y ≤ 8, but not 4x + 3y ≥ 12, so for 4x + 3y ≥ 12 we take the side opposite to (0, 0).
4. The common region with x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0 is the feasible region; its vertices are (0, 4), (2, 3), (5, 0), (3, 0).
5. Compute Z = 2x − y at each vertex to get the minimum value.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 4), (2, 3), (5, 0), (3, 0).
Graph:
Z = 2x − y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 4) | −4 |
| (2, 3) | 1 |
| (5, 0) | 10 |
| (3, 0) | 6 |
∴ Zmin = −4 at (0, 4).
Q2.
Maximize Z = 4x + 3y
Subject to
x + y ≤ 50
x + 2y ≤ 80
2x + y ≥ 20
x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
2. Draw these lines and the coordinate axes in the first quadrant.
3. Check (0, 0): it satisfies x + y ≤ 50 and x + 2y ≤ 80 but not 2x + y ≥ 20, so the feasible side of 2x + y ≥ 20 is away from (0, 0).
4. Intersection of all half-planes with x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0 gives a bounded feasible region with vertices (0, 20), (0, 40), (20, 30), (50, 0), (10, 0).
5. Find Z = 4x + 3y at each vertex and pick the largest value.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 20), (0, 40), (20, 30), (50, 0), (10, 0).
Graph:
Z = 4x + 3y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 20) | 60 |
| (0, 40) | 120 |
| (20, 30) | 170 |
| (50, 0) | 200 |
| (10, 0) | 40 |
∴ Zmax = 200 at (50, 0).
Q3.
Minimize Z = 200x + 500y
Subject to the constraints
x + 2y ≥ 10
3x + 4y ≤ 24
x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
2. Draw both lines and the axes in the first quadrant.
3. Check (0, 0): it does not satisfy x + 2y ≥ 10 but satisfies 3x + 4y ≤ 24.
4. Taking correct half-planes, the feasible region (near these lines) has vertices (0, 5), (0, 6) and (4, 3).
5. Evaluate Z = 200x + 500y at these vertices and choose the least value.
Feasible region: effectively bounded; vertices (0, 5), (0, 6), (4, 3).
Graph:
Z = 200x + 500y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 5) | 2500 |
| (0, 6) | 3000 |
| (4, 3) | 2300 |
∴ Zmin = 2300 at (4, 3).
Q4.
Maximise Z = 4x + y
where
x + y ≤ 50
3x + y ≤ 90
x ≥ 0 and y ≥ 0
2. Draw both lines along with the coordinate axes.
3. Check (0, 0): it satisfies both inequalities, so feasible side for each is towards (0, 0).
4. With x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0, feasible region is a quadrilateral with vertices (0, 0), (0, 50), (20, 30), (30, 0).
5. Compute Z = 4x + y at these vertices and choose the largest value.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 0), (0, 50), (20, 30), (30, 0).
Graph:
Z = 4x + y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 0) | 0 |
| (0, 50) | 50 |
| (20, 30) | 110 |
| (30, 0) | 120 |
∴ Zmax = 120 at (30, 0).
Q5.
Minimize Z = 4x + y
Subject to the constraints
x + y ≤ 50
3x + y ≤ 90
and x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
2. Evaluate Z = 4x + y at each of these points.
3. Smallest value is the required minimum.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 0), (0, 50), (20, 30), (30, 0).
Graph:
Z = 4x + y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 0) | 0 |
| (0, 50) | 50 |
| (20, 30) | 110 |
| (30, 0) | 120 |
∴ Zmin = 0 at (0, 0).
Q6.
Minimize Z = 200x + 500y
Subject to the constraints
x + 2y ≥ 10
3x + 4y ≤ 24
x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
2. Draw both lines and axes, then use (0, 0) to decide half-planes.
3. Feasible region for minimum again has vertices (0, 5), (0, 6), (4, 3).
4. Evaluate Z = 200x + 500y at these points and choose the least.
Feasible region: effectively bounded; vertices (0, 5), (0, 6), (4, 3).
Graph:
Z = 200x + 500y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 5) | 2500 |
| (0, 6) | 3000 |
| (4, 3) | 2300 |
∴ Zmin = 2300 at (4, 3).
Q7.
Z = 6x + 10y
Subject to the constraints
x + 2y ≥ 10
2x + 2y ≥ 12
3x + y ≥ 8
x, y ≥ 0
2. Draw the three straight lines with axes.
3. Origin (0, 0) does not satisfy any ≥ inequality, so feasible region is away from (0, 0) and unbounded.
4. Important corner points near origin are (0, 8), (1, 5), (2, 4).
5. Compute Z = 6x + 10y at these points and take the smallest value.
Feasible region: unbounded; key points (0, 8), (1, 5), (2, 4).
Graph:
Z = 6x + 10y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 8) | 80 |
| (1, 5) | 56 |
| (2, 4) | 52 |
∴ Zmin = 52 at (2, 4).
Q8.
Z = x + y
Subject to the constraints
5x + 10y ≤ 50
x + y ≥ 1
y ≤ 4
and x, y ≥ 0
2. Draw these three lines and the axes.
3. Check (0, 0): it satisfies x + 2y ≤ 10 and y ≤ 4, but not x + y ≥ 1, so the feasible side for x + y ≥ 1 is away from (0, 0).
4. The resulting feasible region in first quadrant is a pentagon with vertices (0, 1), (1, 0), (10, 0), (2, 4), (0, 4).
5. Evaluate Z = x + y at each vertex to get the maximum value.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 1), (1, 0), (10, 0), (2, 4), (0, 4).
Graph:
Z = x + y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 1) | 1 |
| (1, 0) | 1 |
| (10, 0) | 10 |
| (2, 4) | 6 |
| (0, 4) | 4 |
∴ Zmax = 10 at (10, 0).
Q9.
Z = 3x + 2y
Subject to
2x + y ≥ 14
2x + 3y ≥ 22
x + y ≥ 5
and x, y ≥ 0
2. Draw all three lines and axes.
3. Since all constraints are “≥”, the origin (0, 0) does not satisfy any of them, so the feasible region lies away from the origin and is unbounded.
4. Important corner points of the region are (0, 14), (5, 4) and (11, 0).
5. Evaluate Z = 3x + 2y at these points and select the minimum.
Feasible region: unbounded; corner points (0, 14), (5, 4), (11, 0).
Graph:
Z = 3x + 2y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 14) | 28 |
| (11, 0) | 33 |
| (5, 4) | 23 |
∴ Zmin = 23 at (5, 4).
Q10.
Z = 3x + 5y
Subject to
x + 2y ≤ 20
x + y ≤ 15
y ≤ 6
x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0
2. Draw these lines and the axes in the first quadrant.
3. Origin (0, 0) satisfies all three “≤” inequalities, so we take the half-planes containing (0, 0).
4. Feasible region is a polygon with vertices (0, 0), (0, 6), (8, 6), (10, 5), (15, 0).
5. Compute Z = 3x + 5y at each vertex to get the maximum value.
Feasible region: bounded; vertices (0, 0), (0, 6), (8, 6), (10, 5), (15, 0).
Graph:
Z = 3x + 5y at corner points:
| (x, y) | Z |
|---|---|
| (0, 0) | 0 |
| (0, 6) | 30 |
| (8, 6) | 54 |
| (10, 5) | 55 |
| (15, 0) | 45 |
∴ Zmax = 55 at (10, 5).
