Final answer:
Requiring integer values in a linear program can make it take longer to solve.
Step-by-step explanation:
Requiring some variables in a linear program to take integer values can indeed make it take a lot longer to solve.
Linear programming is a mathematical optimization technique used to maximize or minimize a linear objective function subject to a set of linear constraints. In general, linear programming problems with only continuous variables can be solved efficiently using algorithms like the simplex method. However, when integer constraints are introduced, the problem becomes much more complex.
This is because the inclusion of integer variables results in a larger solution space, which increases the computational complexity of finding the optimal solution. Algorithms like branch and bound or cutting-plane methods are often used to solve integer programming problems, but they require more computational time compared to solving problems with only continuous variables.