A variable that has no physical meaning and is used to obtain an initial basic feasible solution to a linear programming problem is known as: A. basis B. algorithm C. artificial variable D. basic variable E. None of the above

basis
algorithm
artificial variable
basic variable E. None of the above

The correct answer is C. artificial variable.

An artificial variable is a variable that is added to a linear programming problem to obtain an initial basic feasible solution. It has no physical meaning and is always set to zero in the optimal solution.

A basis is a set of variables that are used to represent the solution to a linear programming problem. A basic feasible solution is a solution to a linear programming problem in which all the variables are non-negative.

An algorithm is a set of instructions that are used to solve a problem.

A basic variable is a variable that is in the basis.

None of the above is not the correct answer because it does not describe an artificial variable.