Which of the following is not true of artificial variables?
A)They have no meaning in a physical sense-nothing more than a computational tool.
B)In all linear programs, they appear in the objective function with a very low cost ($M).
C)They are usually used with ≥ constraints.
D)They are usually used with = constraints.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Artificial variables are introduced into linear programming problems to start the simplex method when there is no obvious initial feasible solution. They are used with both ≥ and = constraints (choices C and D are true). They indeed have no physical meaning and serve purely as a computational tool (choice A is true). However, they do not appear in the objective function with a very low cost; rather, they are assigned a very high cost ($M) in the objective function to ensure they are driven out of the solution (if possible), making choice B incorrect.

Which of the Following Is Not True of Artificial Variables