UNIVERSITY OF KERALA

EIGHTH SEMESTER B.TECH DEGREE EXAMINATION

13.805.17 ELECTIVE – IV ADVANCED DECISION MODELLING (MP)
(2013 Scheme)

Instructions: Answer all questions from Part A and one question from
each module in Part B
Time: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 100
Part A
1. Describe the different types of queueing disciplines.
2. List the applications of queuing theory.
3. Differentiate slack variables and artificial variables in linear programming problems.
4. Explain balanced and unbalanced transportation problems
5. Explain the following terms in Network Theory : i) Event, ii) Critical path
6. Describe how decision making is done using Hurwicz criterion.
7. Explain various costs associated with inventory models.
8. List the factors which influence equipment replacement.
9. Explain the method of obtaining an optimal solution to a 3 machine ‘n’ job problem.
10. Explain the terms saddle point and pure strategy related to game theory.
2 x 10 =20 marks
Part B
Module I
11. a) Explain the constituents of a queuing model.
5 marks

b) Customers arrive at a bank counter manned by a single cashier according to

Poisson distribution with mean arrival rate of 6 customers/ hour. The cashier attends
the customers on FCFS basis at an average rate of 10 customers/hour with service
time exponential distribution. Find

i) The probability that the queuing system is idle

ii) The probability associated with 4 customers in the queuing system
iii) The time a customer should expect to spend in the queue
iv) The time a customer spends before leaving the bank counter
15 marks
OR
12. a) Explain the essential characteristics of Operations Research.
5 marks
 b) A repairman is to be hired to repair machines which break down at an average
rate of 3 per hour. The breakdowns follow Poisson distribution. Non-productive time
of machine is considered to cost Rs. 160 per hour. Two repairmen have been
interviewed: one is slow but cheap, while the other is fast but expensive. The slow
repairman charges Rs. 80 per hour and he services broken down machines at a rate
of 4 per hour. The fast repairman demands Rs. 100 per hour and he services at an
average rate of 6 per hour. Which repairman should be hired? Assume an 8 hour
working day
15 marks
Module II
13. a) A company plans to make two products, windows and doors from its available
resources, which consists of 400 board feet of mahogany timber and 450 man hours
of labour. To make a window it requires 5 board feet and 10 man hours and yields a
profit of Rs. 45, while each door uses 20 board feet and 15 man hours and has a
profit of Rs. 80. Formulate a LPP and solve to find the optimum number of windows
and doors to be manufactured so that the profit is maximized.
10 marks

b) Solve the following assignment problem

A B C D
J1 14 5 8 7
J2 2 12 6 5
J3 7 8 3 9
J4 2 4 6 10

10 marks
OR
14. Find the optimal solution to the following transportation problem in which the cells
contain transportation cost in rupees. Use Vogel’s approximation method to find the
initial basic feasible solution and MODI method to find the optimal solution.

D1 D2 D3 D4 Supply
S1 2 3 5 6 5
S2 2 1 3 5 10
S3 3 8 4 6 15
Demand 12 8 4 6
20 marks
 Module III
15. The time estimates in weeks for the activities of a PERT network are given below.

Optimistic Most Pessimistic

Activity
time likely time time
1-2 1 2 3
2-3 8 10 12
2-4 3 4 5
2-5 3 5 7
3-6 4 5 6
4-6 7 8 9
5-7 6 8 10
6-7 1 4 7

i) Draw the project network

ii) Find the the expected project length
iii) Determine the standard deviation and variance of the project length
iii)What is the probability that the project will be completed in 24 weeks?
20 marks
OR
16. a) A business man wants to decide whether to stock commodity X or commodity Y.
He can stock either but not both. If he stocks X and if it is a success, he feels that he
can make Rs 200 but if it is a failure he will lose Rs 500. If he stocks Y and if it is a
success he feels he can make Rs 400 but if it is a failure he would lose Rs 300.
Which commodity X or Y should he stock? Success and failure probabilities are given
in the following table. Use decision trees with EMV approach.

Probability of With X With Y

Success 0.8 0.6
Failure 0.2 0.4
8 marks

b) The purchase price of a machine is Rs. 3800. The maintenance cost and resale
value are given in the table below. When should the machine be replaced?

Year 1 2 3 4 5
Resale value 2000 1200 800 700 600
Maintenance cost 2000 2400 2900 3400 3900
12 marks
 Module IV
17. a) Five jobs must pass through a lathe and a surface grinder, in that order. The
processing times in hours are given below. Determine a sequence for the five jobs
that will minimise the elapsed time. Also find the total time required.

Job 1 2 3 4 5
Lathe 5 1 9 3 10
Surface Grinder 2 6 7 8 4

6 marks

b) Using graphical method determine the optimal sequence needed to process jobs 1
and 2 on five machines A, B, C, D and E. Calculate the total time needed to complete
both the jobs.

Sequence A B C D E
Job1
Time (hrs) 1 2 3 5 1
Sequence C A D E B
Job2
Time (hrs) 3 4 2 1 5
14 marks
OR
18. a) Describe the meaning of two person zero sum game. Explain why is it unrealistic.
5 marks
b) Reduce the following 4x4 game by the principle of dominance and solve using
graphical method
Player B
B1 B2 B3 B4
A1 19 6 7 5

A2 7 3 15 6
Player A
A3 12 8 18 4

A4 8 7 13 -1

15 marks
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