MATH FOR THE MODERN TRAVELER 21

immediately follows that p(1) = p(2), p(4) = p(5), p(3) = p(6), p(7) =
p(11), p(8) = p(10), p(12) = p(14), and p(15) = p(16). Don’t overlook
the fact that, with two exceptions, each node has five exit paths,
including those nodes that lead to the outskirts of town (each of those
nodes has two such exit paths).2 All the exit paths are equally likely;
that is, each has probability 15 of being chosen.
The central challenge to developing a Monte Carlo algorithm
for this problem is devising a way to “tell the computer’’ how the
nodes connect together. (Computer scientists call this the data structure
problem, and it represents about 99% of the task. Once you’ve done
that, you’re practically done.) The fact that each node offers the
same number of exit paths greatly helps simplify the data structure
problem. An interesting extension of the data structure problem is how
to handle multidimensional walks with varying numbers of exit paths
for each node.

Problem 10
Flying with (and against) the Wind:
Math for the Modern Traveler

Before getting to the main problem statement, here’s a little warm-

up for you. One day Bob runs an 8-mile course, with the first half of
his run at 12 mph, and the second half at 8 mph. The next day Sally
decides to run the same course; she also runs the first half at 12 mph
and the second half at 8 mph. The time for Bob’s run is not the same
as the time for Sally’s run. Explain how this can be, and calculate each
runner’s time.
Okay, now that you are all tuned up, here’s a slightly more involved
situation. An airline offers roundtrip travel between two cities, A and
B, that are distance D apart. A plane that travels with a fixed ground
speed of S in still air flies from A to B one day and then makes the
return flight the next day. On the first leg of the roundtrip, the plane
leaves A when the wind, blowing from A to B, is initially zero. At the

2
The exceptions are, of course, node 9 (the Arc) and node 17, each of which
terminates the walk.

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22 PROBLEMS

start of the flight the wind speed steadily increases at a constant rate,
so that when the plane arrives at B the wind speed is W. The next day,
on the return flight from B back to A, the wind speed has fallen to
a constant speed of W2 < S but still blows from A to B. Compare the
total roundtrip flight time of the airplane to what it would be in the
absence of any wind. In particular, if W = 12 S, how different are the
two total flight times (that is, which is the larger, and by how much)?
This is an excellent example of the power of mathematical reasoning
when applied to what appears to be a complicated physical situation.
Now, if you’re feeling really powerful (in the mathematical sense), try
your hand at the following.

Extra-Credit Challenge: A man runs along a straight path of

length D at speed v(t) = v(x). That is, his speed is v(x) when he is
distance x from his starting point (x = 0), which he reaches at time t.
Show that if T is the total time of the run, then
T D
1 1
v(t)dt ≤ v(x)d x.
T D
0 0

That is, show that the time-average of his speed can never be greater
than the spatial-average of his speed. Hint: Use the Cauchy-Schwarz
inequality, which is discussed at the end of the preface. You will find it
helpful, too, to remember that the relationship between D, T, and v is
T
D= v(t)dt.
0

Problem 11
A Combinatorial Problem with Physics Implications:
Particles, Energy Levels, and Pauli Exclusion

This discussion is intended to be an illustration of the interest math-

ematical physicists have in counting and in combinatorial analysis.
Our particular interest here will be in what might appear to be,
literally, child’s play—the placing of balls in boxes—but which is

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