The simplex algorithm, sometimes dubbed the world’s most powerful, sits at the heart of linear programming. Classically the subject of tertiary-level study, Dantzig’s simplex algorithm can be used to solve important problems like how to make a ‘better’ burger patty. Such two-dimensional problems involve the formation and manipulation of linear inequalities, their graphing on a cartesian plane and their simultaneous solution, all elements of Year 10 Mathematics and Year 11 General Mathematics.

This Video for Learning collection includes a video introduction that sets the burger making problem in the context of making sustainable choices, and provides some initial insights into a possible solution. It is accompanied by curriculum context information and, for those wishing to use this as a rich and accessible assessment task, a task sheet including ways to individualise student responses. The collection also includes a second video that shows in more detail how the mathematics of this task can be tackled on a Casio fx CG50AU graphics calculator, a handy teacher resource or support for students needing a little more scaffolding.

Additional documents can be obtained from the links below:

Curriculum context information

Assessment task sheet in pdf

Assessment task sheet in Word

Individual student ‘recipes’ in pdf

Individual student ‘recipes’ in Excel