In Problems 110, use Lagrange multipliers to find the maximum or minimum values of f(x, y) subject to the constraint f(x, y) = x + y, x2 + y2 = 1
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Textbook Solutions for Applied Calculus
Question
Each person tries to balance his or her time between leisure and work. The tradeoff is that as you work less your income falls. Therefore each person has indifference curves which connect the number of hours of leisure, l, and income, s. If, for example, you are indifferent between 0 hours of leisure and an income of $1125 a week on the one hand, and 10 hours of leisure and an income of $750 a week on the other hand, then the points l = 0, s = 1125, and l = 10, s = 750 both lie on the same indifference curve. Table 8.11 gives information on three indifference curves, I, II, and III. Table 8.11 Weekly income Weekly leisure hours I II III I II III 1125 1250 1375 0 20 40 750 875 1000 10 30 50 500 625 750 20 40 60 375 500 625 30 50 70 250 375 500 50 70 90 (a) Graph the three indifference curves. (b) You have 100 hours a week available for work and leisure combined, and you earn $10/hour. Write an equation in terms of l and s which represents this constraint. (c) On the same axes, graph this constraint. (d) Estimate from the graph what combination of leisure hours and income you would choose under these circumstances. Give the corresponding number of hours per week you would work.
Solution
The first step in solving 8.6 problem number 24 trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: Each person tries to balance his or her time between leisure and work. The tradeoff is that as you work less your income falls. Therefore each person has indifference curves which connect the number of hours of leisure, l, and income, s. If, for example, you are indifferent between 0 hours of leisure and an income of $1125 a week on the one hand, and 10 hours of leisure and an income of $750 a week on the other hand, then the points l = 0, s = 1125, and l = 10, s = 750 both lie on the same indifference curve. Table 8.11 gives information on three indifference curves, I, II, and III. Table 8.11 Weekly income Weekly leisure hours I II III I II III 1125 1250 1375 0 20 40 750 875 1000 10 30 50 500 625 750 20 40 60 375 500 625 30 50 70 250 375 500 50 70 90 (a) Graph the three indifference curves. (b) You have 100 hours a week available for work and leisure combined, and you earn $10/hour. Write an equation in terms of l and s which represents this constraint. (c) On the same axes, graph this constraint. (d) Estimate from the graph what combination of leisure hours and income you would choose under these circumstances. Give the corresponding number of hours per week you would work.
From the textbook chapter CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.
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