Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Graphs
1: The language of graphs
2: Properties of graphs
3: Planarity and isomorphism
Mixed practice 1
2 Networks
1: Network optimisation problems using spanning trees
2: Route inspection problems
3: Travelling salesperson problem
Mixed practice 2
3 Network flows
1: Flows and cuts
2: Variations on flow problems
Mixed practice 3
4 Linear programming
1: Formulating constrained optimisation problems
2: Graphical solutions
3: The simplex algorithm
Mixed practice 4
7 Binary operations
1: Properties of binary operations
2: Using Cayley tables
Mixed practice 7
8 Groups
1: The group axioms
2: Generators of a group
Mixed practice 8
The book is woven around three key themes from the new curriculum.
Proof
Maths is valued because it trains you to think logically and communicate precisely. At a high level, maths is
far less concerned about answers and more about the clear communication of ideas. It is not about being
neat – although that might help! It is about creating a coherent argument that other people can easily
follow but find difficult to refute. Have you ever tried looking at your own work? If you cannot follow it
yourself it is unlikely anybody else will be able to understand it. In maths we communicate using a variety
of means – feel free to use combinations of diagrams, words and algebra to aid your argument. And once
you have attempted a proof, try presenting it to your peers. Look critically (but positively) at some other
people’s attempts. It is only through having your own attempts evaluated and trying to find flaws in other
proofs that you will develop sophisticated mathematical thinking. This is why we have included lots of
common errors in our Work it out boxes – just in case your friends don’t make any mistakes!
Problem solving
Maths is valued because it trains you to look at situations in unusual, creative ways, to persevere and to
evaluate solutions along the way. We have been heavily influenced by a great mathematician and maths
educator George Polya, who believed that students were not just born with problem-solving skills – they
were developed by seeing problems being solved and reflecting on their solutions before trying similar
problems. You may not realise it but good mathematicians spend most of their time being stuck. You need
to spend some time on problems you can’t do, trying out different possibilities. If after a while you have not
cracked it then look at the solution and try a similar problem. Don’t be disheartened if you cannot get it
immediately – in fact, the longer you spend puzzling over a problem the more you will learn from the
solution. You may never need to integrate a rational function in the future, but we firmly believe that the
problem-solving skills you will develop by trying it can be applied to many other situations.
Modelling
Maths is valued because it helps us solve real-world problems. However, maths describes ideal situations
and the real world is messy! Modelling is about deciding on the important features needed to describe the
essence of a situation and turning that into a mathematical form, then using it to make predictions,
compare to reality and possibly improve the model. In many situations the technical maths is actually the
easy part – especially with modern technology. Deciding which features of reality to include or ignore and
anticipating the consequences of these decisions is the hard part. Yet it is amazing how some fairly drastic
assumptions – such as pretending a car is a single point or that people’s votes are independent – can result
in models that are surprisingly accurate.
More than anything else this book is about making links – links between the different chapters, the topics
covered and the themes above, links to other subjects and links to the real world. We hope that you will
grow to see maths as one great complex but beautiful web of interlinking ideas.
Maths is about so much more than examinations, but we hope that if you absorb these ideas (and do
plenty of practice!) you will find maths examinations a much more approachable and possibly even
enjoyable experience. However, always remember that the results of what you write down in a few hours
by yourself in silence under exam conditions are not the only measure you should consider when judging
your mathematical ability – it is only one variable in a much more complicated mathematical model!
How to use this resource
Throughout this resource you will notice particular features that are designed to aid your learning. This
section provides a brief overview of these features.
If you are following the A Level course you will also learn how to:
Learning objectives
A short summary of the content that you will learn in each chapter.
Further Mathematics Student Book You should know how to carry out 2 Calculate:
1, Chapter 7 matrix addition and matrix
multiplication. a
WORKED EXAMPLE
The left-hand side shows you how to set out your working. The right-hand side explains the more
difficult steps and helps you understand why a particular method was chosen.
WORK IT OUT
Identify the correct solution and find the mistakes in the two incorrect solutions.
Key point
Common error
Specific mistakes that are often made. These typically appear next to the point in the Worked
example where the error could occur.
Tip
Useful guidance, including ways of calculating or checking answers and using technology.
Each chapter ends with a Checklist of learning and understanding and a Mixed practice exercise,
which includes past paper questions marked with the icon .
Between some chapters, you will find extra sections that bring together topics in a more synoptic way.
Questions covering topics from across the preceding chapters, testing your ability to apply what
you have learned.
You will find practice paper questions towards the end of the resource, as well as a glossary of key terms
(picked out in colour within the chapters) and answers.
Maths is all about making links, which is why throughout this resource you will find signposts emphasising
connections between different topics, applications and suggestions for further research.
Rewind
Fast forward
Links to topics that you may cover in greater detail later in your study.
Colour-coding of exercises
The questions in the exercises are designed to provide careful progression, ranging from basic fluency to
practice questions. They are uniquely colour-coded, as shown here.
1 Show that, for the graph in question 1, the sum of the degrees of the vertices is twice the number
of edges.
2 A graph has vertices and edges. What is the sum of the degrees of the vertices?
3 A graph is drawn with vertices labelled , , , , and . An edge is drawn between two vertices if
the larger is a multiple of the smaller.
c Write down a trail that starts at and travels through every vertex in the graph once.
4 Explain why it is impossible to draw a graph with exactly five vertices that have degrees , , ,
and .
5 A simple graph has six vertices. The degrees of the vertices are , , , , and .
6 Explain why there is no simple graph with exactly four vertices with degrees , , and .
7 There are different trees with vertices. Draw an example of each and give its degrees.
8 A connected graph has vertices and edges. Explain why the graph must be simple.
9 A connected graph is semi-Eulerian if exactly two of its vertices are of odd degree.
a A graph is drawn with vertices and edges. What is the sum of the degrees of the vertices?
b Draw a simple semi-Eulerian graph with exactly vertices and edges, in which exactly one of
the vertices has degree .
c Draw a simple semi-Eulerian graph with exactly vertices that is also a tree.
d A simple graph has vertices. The graph has two vertices of degree . Explain why the graph can
have no vertex of degree .
b Explain how the vertex degrees show that the graph is not simple-connected.
Black – practice questions that come in several parts, each with subparts i and ii. You only need
attempt subpart i at first; subpart ii is essentially the same question, which you can use for further
practice if you got part i wrong, for homework, or when you revisit the exercise during revision.
Purple – challenging questions that apply the concept of the current chapter across other areas of
maths.
If you are following the A Level course you will also learn how to:
• A vertex is shown as a point on a graph. Vertices are sometimes labelled, and sometimes not.
• An edge is a line or curve with a vertex at each end.
b and You can identify an edge by the vertices at its ends. Edge is the
. same as edge for example.
• A walk is a set of edges joined end to end, so the end vertex of one edge is the start vertex of
the next.
• A trail is a walk in which no edges are repeated. Vertices can be repeated in a trail, although
often they are not.
• A cycle is a trail that starts and finishes at the same vertex. Other than the start being the
same as the finish, vertices are not repeated in a cycle.
Fast forward
The terms trail and cycle will be used in route inspection problems and the travelling salesperson
problem in Chapter 2.
b give two examples of trails, one with a repeated vertex and one with no repeated vertices
c explain why is not a trail
d For example:
e Vertex is travelled through twice. A cycle has no repeated vertices, apart from starting
and finishing at the same vertex.
• Two vertices are directly connected, or adjacent, if there is an edge with these vertices at its
ends. An indirect connection between two vertices passes through other vertices and involves
more than one edge.
• A graph is connected if it is possible to get from any vertex to any other, directly or indirectly.
The position of the vertices and the shapes of the edges in a graph (including whether they cross each
other or not) are irrelevant. All that matters is which vertices are adjacent (directly joined) to each other.
a a loop or loops
b a multiple edge or multiple edges?
A D
B E
C F
Graph 1 Graph 2
G J
H K
I L
Graph 3 Graph 4
M N
P O
Graph 5
• The degree of a vertex is the number of edges that end at that vertex.
c Why is the sum of the vertex degrees equal to twice the number of edges?
a
Vertex
Degree
b Graph
Graph
Graph
Graph
Graph
c Each edge has two ends, each of which contributes Graphs and have edges each,
towards a vertex degree.
Graphs and have edges each,
For any graph, the sum of the vertex degrees is twice the number of edges, which means that
the sum of the vertex degrees is always even.
An immediate consequence of this is that a graph cannot have an odd number of vertices with
odd degrees.
c For example:
The first graph shown has multiple edges; the
second has multiple edges and a loop; the third
is made up of two disconnected graphs and has
multiple edges and loops.
• A subgraph of a graph is formed by using some or all of the vertices of a graph together with
some or all of the edges that connect these vertices. A subgraph is a graph contained within
another graph. This could result in an unconnected vertex. However, subgraphs are usually
connected.
• Subdivision means inserting a vertex of degree into an edge. Subdivision increases the
number of vertices by and the number of edges by .
a Remove the edge joining the two vertices of degree It is irrelevant that the edges
cross. Graph 2 is the same
as a square.
b Insert a vertex into one of the edges joining a vertex of degree
to a vertex of degree . This turns that edge into two edges joined
by a vertex of degree .
• A simple graph, on a given number of vertices, with the maximum possible number of edges is
called a complete graph. Each vertex is connected by a single edge to each of the other
vertices. Recall from Key point 1.4 that a simple graph has no loops or multiple edges.
• The complete graph with vertices is denoted by and has edges.
Common error
Be careful not to confuse complete graphs and connected graphs (see Key point 1.3).
For example: You could also draw without edges crossing, for
example:
• A bipartite graph is a simple graph that can be partitioned into two sets so that every edge
joins a vertex from one of these sets to a vertex in the other set. No edge connects two
vertices in the same set.
• A simple bipartite graph, on a given number of vertices in each set, with the maximum possible
number of edges is called a complete bipartite graph. Each vertex in the first set is
connected by a single edge to each vertex in the second set.
• The complete bipartite graph with vertices in the first set and vertices in the second set is
denoted by and has edges.
For example:
A B D F
The two sets are usually presented either as two horizontal
rows or two vertical rows, so that the two sets can be
identified easily.
The vertices need not be labelled.
C E
has vertices in the first set, each of which is Alternatively, each of the vertices in the
connected to the vertices in the second set. first set has degree , giving degree sum
, and each of the vertices in the
So the first set consists of vertices each with degree second set has degree , giving degree
, and the second set consists of vertices each with sum .
degree . There are endings in the first set The total degree sum is .
and in the second set, so the number of edges is The degree sum is twice the number of
edges.
.
So the number of edges is .
• An adjacency matrix shows the number of edges that directly connect each pair of vertices.
An adjacency matrix can also be used when there are no vertex labels given.
a A D
B E
Tip
An adjacency matrix is symmetrical about the lead diagonal (top left to bottom right).
Construct the adjacency matrix for the graph with vertices , , , with edges between and ,
and , and , two edges between and , and a loop from to itself.
• The complement of a simple graph is the set of edges that, when added to the graph, makes
a complete graph.
• Every pair of vertices that are not directly connected in the original graph are joined by an
edge in the complement; every pair of vertices that are joined by an edge in the original graph
are not directly connected in the complement.
• The adjacency matrix for a simple graph consists of s and s. The adjacency matrix for the
complement has a where the matrix for the graph has a , and a where the matrix for the
graph has a , apart from the lead diagonal which consists of s in both adjacency matrices.
The graph represents six people. Edges connect people who have met one another.
Draw the complement of this graph and describe what the edges in the complement represent in this
case.
EXERCISE 1A
1 Is this graph simple? Explain your answer.
2 Show that, for the graph in question 1, the sum of the degrees of the vertices is twice the number of
edges.
3 A graph has vertices and edges. What is the sum of the degrees of the vertices?
4 How many edges does the complete graph on five vertices have?
5 A graph is drawn with vertices labelled , , , , and . An edge is drawn between two vertices if the
larger number is a multiple of the smaller.
6 Explain why it is impossible to draw a graph with exactly five vertices that have degrees , , , and
.
7 A simple graph has six vertices. The degrees of the vertices are , , , , and .
8 Explain why there is no simple graph with exactly four vertices with degrees , , and .
9 Write down a possible adjacency matrix for a connected graph with four vertices and three edges for
which there is:
11 a How many edges are there in the complement of the complete bipartite graph ?
b Describe what the edges in the complement represent.
A bipartite graph is a subgraph of . The subgraph is a connected graph with vertices. The
subgraph has fewer edges than .
12 A connected graph has vertices and edges. Explain why the graph must be simple.
13 A medieval river crossing puzzle involves a farmer, a wolf, a goat and a sack of cabbages. Initially, the
farmer, wolf, goat and sack of cabbages are together on the north bank of the river. The farmer can
use a small boat to cross the river. The boat is only big enough to carry the farmer and one of the
other three items. The goat cannot be left with the cabbages or with the wolf, unless the farmer is also
present. The wolf can be left alone with the cabbages. The problem is to find a way to get everything
across to the other side of the river using as few crossings as possible.
The problem can be modelled using a graph in which the vertices are labelled to show what is on the
north bank of the river at the beginning of each crossing. Initially, the farmer and all of the items are
all on the north bank; this is the vertex . The first crossing must involve the farmer taking the
goat across the river, so the second vertex is . The final crossing must involve the farmer taking
the goat from the north bank to the south bank; this is the vertex .
a List the nine possible vertices, remembering that the goat cannot be left with the cabbages or with
the wolf, unless the farmer is also present.
b Draw a bipartite graph to represent the possible river crossings.
c Find a solution to the problem.
Section 2: Properties of graphs
Key point 1.13
• A simple-connected graph with the minimum possible number of edges is called a tree. A tree
on vertices has edges.
a
Any other tree on vertices can be rearranged by moving the vertices
around to make one of these graphs.
b and The trees have different sets of vertex degrees so they must represent
different graphs.
The vertices at the ends of the branches in a tree have degree . A tree on vertices must have a
minimum of vertices of degree and a maximum of vertices of degree .
• A traversable graph is one that can be drawn as a trail without going over the same edge
twice.
A B C D
, and .
There is an easy way to check if a graph is traversable by using the degrees of the vertices.
• An Eulerian graph is a connected graph that has no vertices of odd degree. Eulerian graphs
are traversable, with the trail starting and finishing at the same vertex.
• A semi-Eulerian graph is a connected graph that has exactly vertices of odd degree. Semi-
Eulerian graphs are traversable, but the trail starts at one of the odd vertices and finishes at
the other odd vertex.
It is easy to show that each time a trail enters and exits a vertex it uses up edges, so for a graph to be
traversable the degrees must all be even, apart from the start and finish which will have odd degree (or
even if the trail finishes where it started). However, it is much more difficult to prove that every connected
graph with or exactly vertices of odd degree is traversable.
A simple-connected graph has vertices and edges. The vertex degrees are and .
Connected: . Simple: .
so or .
• A Hamiltonian graph contains a cycle that passes through every vertex exactly once, apart
from starting and finishing at the same vertex. The cycle is called a Hamiltonian cycle. There
will usually be edges in the graph that are not used in the cycle.
Common error
Be careful not to confuse Hamiltonian graphs (which contain a closed trail that uses every vertex
once) and Eulerian graphs (which contain a closed trail that uses every edge once).
In chess, a knight moves two squares horizontally followed by one square vertically or two squares
vertically followed by one square horizontally.
A classic chessboard puzzle, known as the knight’s tour, asks whether a knight can visit every square
of an chessboard and whether this can be done with the knight finishing back where it started.
Try drawing a -dimensional skeleton graph of a dodecahedron and investigate this problem.
Show that all Platonic solids, when considered as graphs, are Hamiltonian graphs.
EXERCISE 1B
5 a What is the sum of the vertex degrees for a tree on five vertices?
b What is the minimum possible number of vertices of degree for a tree on five vertices?
c What is the maximum possible vertex degree for a tree on vertices?
d List the possible sets of vertex degrees for trees on vertices.
9 There are different trees with vertices. Draw an example of each and state its degrees.
a vertices
b vertices
A planar graph is any graph that can be drawn with no edges crossing. A planar graph can
be drawn as one layer, without needing any ‘bridges’ where one edge jumps over another.
Common error
A planar graph need not actually be drawn with no edges crossing; all that matters is that it
can be manipulated (topologically) into a graph with no edges crossing.
Give two reasons why it is useful to be able to draw a graph without having any edges crossing.
It avoids ambiguity about whether there is a vertex where edges cross or if there is a ‘bridge’.
It avoids ‘contamination’ between edges, for example short-circuits in an electrical component.
A simple-connected planar graph is drawn on vertices. The graph has the maximum possible
number of edges. Draw a graph that fits this description.
For example:
A convex polyhedron can be represented as a planar graph. The edges of the polyhedron are
represented by the edges in the graph and the faces of the polyhedron are represented by regions (one
of the faces is represented by the region that is ‘outside’ the graph).
ii a square-based pyramid
iii an octahedron (eight triangular faces, like two square-based pyramids joined at their square
bases)
b Use your results from part a to conjecture a relationship between the numbers of faces, edges
and vertices of a convex polyhedron.
a
Faces Edges Vertices
Cube
ii
iii
iv
Euler’s formula says that for any connected planar graph (or convex polyhedron)
where is the number of vertices, is the number of edges and is the number of faces (or
regions).
The regions of a graph are called faces and include the ‘outside’ region, which is sometimes
called the infinite face.
Graph 4 Graph 5
a Graph 1
Graph 1 has ‘faces’, the two triangular regions
and the infinite face.
Graph 2
Graph 2 has ‘faces’, the region enclosed by the
edges and the ‘outside’ region (infinite face).
Graph 3
Graph 3 has ‘faces’, the two enclosed by the
edges and the infinite face.
Sometimes it is easy to see how a graph can be manipulated so that no edges cross, but at other times
it can be difficult to know whether a graph is planar or non-planar.
Kuratowski’s theorem says that a necessary and sufficient condition for a finite graph to be
planar is that it does not contain a subgraph that is a subdivision of or .
Rewind
Recall from Section 1 that subdivision means inserting a vertex of degree into an edge.
Subdivision increases the number of vertices by and the number of edges by .
The graphs and are minimum cases for non-planarity. If either of these is contained within a
graph, possibly after simplifying the graph by eliminating any vertices of degree , then the graph is
also non-planar.
b Describe how the graph in part a can be drawn with no edges crossing.
An edge is added to the graph in part a connecting to .
c Show that the resulting graph is non-planar.
Two graphs might look very different from one another but have the same structure, in the sense that
they can be transformed into one another by relabelling and moving the vertices and edges around
without cutting any of the edges.
Tip
You can show isomorphism by using a reasoned argument or by setting up a correspondence between
the sets of vertices.
Relabel
Compare the vertex degrees to suggest a possible
and correspondence.
Common error
A necessary condition for two graphs to be isomorphic is that they have the same vertex
degrees. However, this is not a sufficient condition, as two graphs can have the same degree
but not be isomorphic.
EXERCISE 1C
3 Use Euler’s formula for the planar graph to find the number of regions.
4 Show that this graph is planar by drawing it after it has been manipulated so that no edges cross.
6 Use Euler’s formula to find the number of regions in the planar graph described by this adjacency
matrix.
7 A standard dice is modelled as a planar graph with vertices labelled and . The faces of
the dice are represented by the vertices of the graph and edges connect vertices that correspond
to adjacent faces, but not vertices that correspond to opposite faces.
9 Give a relabelling of the vertices that shows that these graphs are isomorphic.
A B
D
C
10 a Write the vertex degrees for the graph with this adjacency matrix.
11 The complete graph is drawn on the vertices but with the edge missing.
c How many ways are there to choose vertices from , excluding any triples that include both
and ?
d Explain why the answers to parts b and c are different.
• A bipartite graph is a simple graph that can be partitioned into two sets so that every edge
joins a vertex from one of these sets to a vertex in the other set. No edge connects two
vertices in the same set.
• A simple bipartite graph, on a given number of vertices in each set, with the maximum
possible number of edges is called a complete bipartite graph. Each vertex in the first set is
connected by a single edge to each vertex in the second set.
• The complete bipartite graph with m vertices in the first set and n vertices in the second set
is denoted by and has edges.
• An adjacency matrix shows the number of edges that directly connect each pair of vertices. An
adjacency matrix can also be used when there are no vertex labels given.
• The complement of a simple graph is the set of edges that, when added to the graph, make a
complete graph.
• Every pair of vertices that were not directly connected in the original graph are joined by an
edge in the complement; every pair of vertices that were joined by an edge in the original
graph are not directly connected in the complement.
• The adjacency matrix for the graph consists of 0s and 1s. The complement has a where
the graph had a and a where the graph had a 1, except for the leading diagonal which is
all 0s in both the graph and its complement.
• A graph that is both simple and connected is called a simple-connected graph.
• A simple-connected graph with the minimum possible number of edges is called a tree.
• A tree on n vertices has edges.
• A traversable graph is one that can be drawn as a trail, without going over the same edge
twice.
• An Eulerian graph is a connected graph that has no vertices of odd degree.
• Eulerian graphs are traversable, with the trail starting and finishing at the same vertex.
• A semi-Eulerian graph is a connected graph that has exactly vertices of odd degree.
• Semi-Eulerian graphs are traversable, but the trail starts at one of the odd vertices and
finishes at the other odd vertex.
• A Hamiltonian graph contains a cycle that passes through every vertex (exactly once, apart
from starting and finishing at the same vertex).
• The cycle is called a Hamiltonian cycle.
• There will usually be edges in the graph that are not used in the cycle.
• A planar graph is any graph that can be drawn with no edges crossing.
• A planar graph can be drawn as one layer, without needing any ‘bridges’ where one edge
jumps over another.
• Euler’s formula says that for any connected planar graph (or convex polyhedron)
where is the number of vertices, is the number of edges and is the number of faces (or
regions), including the infinite face.
• Kuratowski’s theorem says that a necessary and sufficient condition for a finite graph to be
planar is that it does not contain a subgraph that is a subdivision of or .
• Two graphs are isomorphic if they have the same structure.
Mixed practice 1
1 A connected graph has five vertices with vertex degrees . How many edges does the
graph have? Choose from these options.
2 A simple-connected semi-Eulerian graph has six vertices. The degrees of five of the vertices
are and . What could be the degree of the sixth vertex? Choose from these options.
3 A graph is drawn with vertices labelled and . Edges connect two vertices if the sum
of their labels is a multiple of .
4 By considering the number of edges, show that all simple-connected graphs that connect four
vertices using five edges are isomorphic.
5 Explain why a graph with four vertices, of which one vertex has degree and the other three
vertices have degree , is not simply connected.
a Find a subset of the vertices that, together with the edges that directly connect them, form
a subgraph that is .
b What can you conclude from this about the original graph?
b Show that the two graphs from your answer to part a are isomorphic.
c Show that each of the other two graphs is not isomorphic to any of the other graphs.
8 A simple-connected Eulerian graph is drawn that has exactly nine vertices and edges.
b What is the maximum number of vertices that can have this minimum degree?
c What is the maximum number of vertices of degree that the graph could have?
9 A three-dimensional noughts and crosses game is played using a cube of cells. Label
the cells , where represent the coordinates of the cell.
A simple-connected graph is constructed in which the vertices represent the cells and edges
join two cells if those cells are not in the same straight line of cells.
10 A graph has exactly four vertices. The degrees of the vertices are and .
d What is the greatest value of for which it is possible to draw a connected graph with the
degree sequence , with no loops.
12 A connected graph is semi-Eulerian if exactly two of its vertices are of odd degree.
a A graph is drawn with vertices and edges. What is the sum of the degrees of the
vertices?
b Draw a simple semi-Eulerian graph with exactly vertices and edges, in which exactly
one of the vertices has degree .
c Draw a simple semi-Eulerian graph with exactly vertices that is also a tree.
d A simple graph has vertices. The graph has two vertices of degree . Explain why the
graph can have no vertex of degree .
[© AQA 2016]
2 Networks
A network is a weighted graph. This means that each edge of the graph is assigned a numerical
value (a weight) that is attached to it.
The weights could, for example, represent distances, costs or travel times between points.
Rewind
• The arcs in a network can be undirected or they can be directed (like one-way streets).
• A simple network (with no multiple arcs or loops) can be represented as a weighted matrix,
showing the weight of each arc and a blank, or when no arc exists. The weighted matrix
can be called a distance matrix, cost matrix, time matrix, according to what the weights
represent.
Fast forward
You will use directed networks in Chapter 3 when you look at network flows. The weight of an arc
will represent its maximum capacity.
A simple network is shown. The nodes in the network represent towns and the weights on the arcs
represent travel costs in £ units.
With a directed network the usual convention is that the arcs are from
the nodes on the rows to the nodes on the columns.
Often you will present a weighted matrix as a table and omit the
brackets around the matrix.
Tip
The weights will usually be non-negative but need not be integers, unless this is given in the
question.
• A least weight tree connecting all the nodes of a network is a minimum spanning tree or
minimum connector.
• The total weight of a tree is the sum of the arc weights used in the tree.
If, for example, the arc weights are the costs of laying cables between the points, the minimum spanning
tree represents the cheapest way to join the places by cables, so that all of the places are connected,
directly or indirectly.
Common error
There are various strategies for finding minimum spanning trees. You should always show your
working. It is important that you draw the tree, or that you list the arcs in the tree, and also that
you give the total weight.
Kruskal’s algorithm:
Tip
Kruskal’s algorithm starts with the least weight arc and works through the arcs in increasing
order of weight. It builds a collection of little trees that are eventually combined to make a single
spanning tree.
Use Kruskal’s algorithm to find a minimum spanning tree for this network.
✔ At this point the next arc in the list is but this would
create a cycle .
✔
Add .
✔
Although every node is now included the two parts are not
✔ connected so a spanning tree is not yet formed.
Use instead of .
Total weight
Prim’s algorithm:
• Start with any node (this will usually be given in the question).
• Step 1: Add an arc of minimum weight joining a node already included to a node not already
included.
• Step 2: If a spanning tree is obtained stop; otherwise return to Step 1.
Tip
Prim’s algorithm builds a tree by growing out from the starting node until every node is included.
Use Prim’s algorithm, starting at , to find a minimum spanning tree for this network.
Note that the arc can start at any of the nodes already
included.
Continue in this way until a spanning tree is obtained.
Add the weights of the arcs that have been used to find the
total weight of the spanning tree.
The working should all be shown on one diagram. The list is
evidence that you have used the algorithm correctly.
Total weight
Tip
There might be more than one minimum spanning tree. The choice of the starting node and the
order in which arcs of equal weight are chosen might give different trees.
If a computer is being used to solve a problem, the network is likely to have been given as a distance table,
rather than drawn as a diagram. Prim’s algorithm is easily converted into a form that is suitable for use of a
distance network. This is called Prim’s algorithm in tabular form.
• Start with the table (or matrix) of weights for a connected graph.
• Step 1: Cross through the entries in an arbitrary row and mark the corresponding column.
• Step 2: Choose a minimum entry from the uncircled entries in the marked column(s).
Tip
Step 1: Columns that are marked correspond to nodes that are in the tree. Entries in rows that
are crossed out cannot be chosen, so an arc cannot connect two nodes within the tree.
Step 4: Circled entries correspond to arcs that are in the tree. is the entry on row and
column .
Use Prim’s algorithm, starting at , to find a minimum spanning tree for the network described by
this distance matrix.
↓ ↓
- - - - - -
Step 1: Cross through row and mark column .
- - - - Step 2: Choose , the least weight arc, not crossed out,
from column .
- - - - Step 4: Record this by circling the entry (and recording in a
list at the side). This entry is .
- - - - -
Mark column 2 and cross through (remainder of) row .
- - arcs
- - - -
- - - -
- - - - -
↓ ↓ ↓
- - - - - -
Step 2: Choose , the least weight arc, not crossed out
or circled, from columns .
- - - -
Step 4: Record this by circling the entry (and recording in a
list at the side). This entry is .
- - - -
Mark column and cross through (remainder of) row .
- - - - - Step 2: Choose .
arcs
- -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - - -
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Continue in this way until there are no entries that are not
- - - - - - circled or crossed out in any of the marked columns.
Add the circled values to find the total weight of the spanning
- - - - tree.
arcs
- - - -
- - - - -
- -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - - -
Total weight
Minimum spanning trees are useful in solving a variety of network optimisation problems. Later in this
chapter, you will use minimum spanning trees to find bounds on the solution of the travelling salesperson
problem.
The distance matrix shown represents the lengths, in km, of gas pipelines that could be used to
connect villages , and . Currently, the main gas supply only reaches as far as village
and it is required to connect the other villages to the main supply.
a What total length of pipeline is needed if each of and needs to be directly connected to ?
b What total length of pipeline is needed if and can be connected to via other villages
(indirectly connected to )?
Find a minimum spanning tree for the network described by the distance matrix shown.
Which is the correct solution? Identify the errors made in the incorrect solutions.
Solution 1
The three shortest arcs are and .
Solution 2
Solution 3
EXERCISE 2A
1 How many arcs are there in a minimum spanning tree for a network with nodes? Choose from these
options.
9 11 8
14
3 How many different spanning trees are there on the network in question 2?
4 Find the total weight of a minimum spanning tree for the network described by this weighted matrix.
5 For the network in question 4, suppose that a direct connection is made between and .
What is the greatest weight that this arc can have if it can be used in a minimum spanning tree?
6 A minimum spanning tree on a certain network uses the arc with the greatest weight.
What can be deduced about the network?
7 Five buildings on a university campus are connected by footpaths. It has been suggested that shelters
should be installed along some of the footpaths. Only footpaths with shelters can be used when it is
raining.
In this table, the nodes represent the buildings and the arcs represent the footpaths. The weight of
each arc is the cost (in units of £ ) of installing the shelters on the footpath represented by that arc.
8 Give an example of a network on and in which has the minimum weight but there is a
minimum spanning tree that does not use .
9 Following a heavy snowstorm a snowplough is used to clear the snow from some of the roads between
five houses. In a weighted network the houses are represented as nodes and the roads are
represented as arcs. The weight of each arc is the time taken (in minutes) to clear the snow from that
road.
a Find the minimum time needed to clear a route to each house, given that the time needed to drive
the snowplough along any road that has already been cleared of snow can be ignored.
b Find the minimum time needed to clear a route to each house, given that instead, the time needed
to drive the snowplough along a road that has already been cleared of snow is exactly half the time
needed to clear the snow from that road.
A route is like a cycle or closed trail except that edges can be repeated.
Rewind
• A route inspection problem involves finding a least weight route that uses every arc of a
network.
• The problem was originally studied by the Chinese mathematician Kwan Mei-Ko in 1960, and is
also known as the Chinese postman problem.
• Any network formed by weighting an Eulerian graph can be traversed without having to repeat
any arcs.
• Otherwise, arcs need to be doubled up, in the way that uses the least weight possible, so that
the graph that was weighted to form the network becomes Eulerian.
Solve the Chinese postman (route inspection) problem for this network.
Common error
Shortest routes between odd nodes are usually found by inspection. Do not assume that a direct
route is the shortest route – an indirect route could be shorter.
WORKED EXAMPLE 2.8
a Find the weight of the least weight tour that uses every arc in the network shown. The sum of the
weights in the network is .
b Given that the tour starts and ends at , find how many times it passes through
i
ii
iii
Four odd nodes so means that there are three pairs of least
weight paths (each containing all four odd nodes).
Note that the least weight path need not be the direct arc
between two nodes.
Least weight pairing is .
b i 2 has degree so it is passed through twice (in twice and out
twice).
ii 2 has degree but is repeated, effectively making the
degree .
iii 2 Similarly for .
Common error
In Worked example 2.8, you should show that you have considered all the ways of joining the odd
nodes in pairs (for example, and ) and not just write down the
shortest such pairing.
The standard Chinese postman problem starts and finishes at the same node. Sometimes a
question will indicate that the route need not start and end at the same node. In this case, a
semi-Eulerian network is needed, where the route will start at one odd-degree node and finish at
another.
ii
iii .
One pair can remain odd, so you just need to find the shortest
pairing of the other pair.
EXERCISE 2B
C D
3 What is the least weight path connecting the odd nodes in the network in question 2?
4 Explain why the solution to the Chinese postman problem for the network in question 2 has total
weight .
5 A groundsworker wants to use a line-painting machine to mark out a design on a pitch. The machine is
faulty so once it has been switched off it cannot be switched on again. This means that some lines will
be painted twice.
The design is shown.
The small circle has radius metre. It passes through the centre of the larger circle and touches the
larger circle. The straight lines are diameters of the larger circle.
Each metre uses litres of paint.
a What is the minimum amount of paint that the groundsman needs?
b Why, when the groundsman is pushing the machine, would he need to walk further than the
distance travelled by the machine?
c What else do you need to know to be able to calculate the minimum distance that the groundsman
travels when marking out the lines?
6 The least weight route that uses every arc at least once is required for this network.
When the Chinese postman algorithm is used, one group of odd nodes is .
a How many groups of odd nodes are there altogether?
b Explain why the total weight of the shortest paths for any group of odd nodes that includes
must be greater than .
c List the weights and total weight for each group of odd nodes that includes .
d Explain why must be included in the group with least total weight.
A closed route is constructed that uses every edge once and repeats the shortest routes between
and and and .
e How many times does this route pass through ?
7 For the network in question , which arcs would be repeated in a route that covers every arc but starts
and ends at different nodes?
Node
Degree
The lengths, in metres, of the shortest paths between the odd nodes are:
The shortest route that starts at and uses every route is required.
a Where does the route end?
b Use the Chinese postman algorithm to find the length of the route.
9 The Chinese postman algorithm is to be used on a network with eight odd nodes.
a Show that, unless any additional information is given, groups of odd nodes would need to be
considered.
b Show that the lengths of shortest paths would need to be calculated.
If it takes seconds to calculate each shortest path and seconds to find the total weight of each
group of odd nodes, the time taken for a network with eight odd nodes will be over minutes.
c Calculate the corresponding time for a network with ten odd-degree nodes.
The travelling salesperson problem (TSP) involves finding a least weight cycle through all
the nodes of an undirected graph (the least weight Hamiltonian cycle).
Rewind
Although there is no general strategy to solve the travelling salesperson problem, it is easy to find upper
and lower bounds for the minimum weight.
Any Hamiltonian cycle will provide an upper bound for the problem. A problem might suggest a suitable
cycle. If not, you can try the nearest neighbour algorithm.
The nearest neighbour algorithm involves starting at some node and travelling the least
weight arc from this node to another node. From each node that is reached the least weight arc
from this node to a node that has not yet been visited is chosen.
This process is repeated until every node has been visited. If there is an arc that directly
connects the final node to the start node, then this arc can be used to close the cycle.
Apply the nearest neighbour algorithm, starting at , to the network represented by this distance
matrix.
Starting from the nearest adjacent
vertex is .
You do not want to revisit a vertex,
until all vertices have been used.
From move to .
From to and from to .
Then return from to .
–
Each row has one circled entry and
each column has one circled entry.
–
Common error
The nearest neighbour algorithm is similar to the construction of a minimum spanning tree in
that both require you to find the least weight arc from a node that has been included to a node
that has not yet been included. The difference is that, for a minimum spanning tree, every node
that has been visited is considered whereas, for nearest neighbour, only the most recent node is
considered.
If the network is not based on a complete graph, the nearest neighbour algorithm might ‘stall’. This means
that a node is reached for which all the adjacent nodes have already been visited. This means that the path
stops before a Hamiltonian cycle has been achieved.
Apply the nearest neighbour algorithm to the network in Worked example 2.11, starting at and
in turn.
Starting from : When using the nearest neighbour algorithm, the next arc is
chosen from the current node to a node that has not been
visited.
At the least weight arc is , but has already been
visited.
Starting from :
The route stalls at because and have already
been visited, but nodes and have not yet been visited.
Starting from :
If you had used the nearest neighbour from in Worked example 2.12, it would have given the same cycle
as from , but starting .
Both cycles found by using the nearest neighbour algorithm in Worked example 2.12 are Hamiltonian
cycles so the least weight cycle has total weight and also . Since is smaller than this is the
better upper bound.
The best upper bound is the smallest of the upper bounds that have been found (the least upper
bound).
Tip
Sometimes you can use shortcuts or switches to improve an upper bound. For example, you
could improve the solution from Worked example 2.11 by changing to
and then travelling instead of .
The context might permit nodes to be repeated (the salesman travels through a town that he has
already visited). In this case, it is better to travel instead of , even if has
already been visited.
A tour is a closed route through every node that might pass through nodes more than once.
It is useful to try to give a lower bound for the travelling salesperson problem as well as an upper bound. If
the lower bound and the upper bound are equal, then this is the weight of the solution to the travelling
salesperson problem and the route that gave the upper bound is an optimal tour.
If the lower bound and the upper bound are close to one another, then the route that gave the upper
bound is either an optimal tour or is a very good tour.
For a network based on a complete graph, a lower bound can be found by removing a node and
all the arcs from that node and then constructing a minimum spanning tree for the remaining
nodes. The weight of the minimum connector is then added, that is, the two least weight arcs
that will reconnect the node to the minimum spanning tree.
An optimal tour uses two arcs to any given node, the total weight of these is less than or equal to the sum
of the weights of the two least weight arcs from the given node. The remainder of the optimal tour is a
‘string’ connecting the other vertices. This must be at least as long as the minimum spanning tree for these
vertices.
If the graph is not based on a complete network, then the method could fail to give a lower bound.
Show what happens when the method from Key point 2.16 is applied to the network shown when the
node that is removed is:
a
b .
Total weight .
Total weight .
The largest of the lower bounds that have been found (greatest lower bound) is the best of the
lower bounds.
For the problem in Worked examples 2.11, 2.12 and 2.13, weight of .
EXERCISE 2C
2 When the nearest neighbour algorithm is used on the network in question , the arc is included,
whichever node is used as the start. What is the length of a tour that does not use the arc ?
3 A network has four nodes, with each node connected to each of the others. Ignoring the
direction of travel, how many different cycles are there?
4 a Find the lower bound for the travelling salesperson problem for the network described by the
shown distance matrix by deleting each of the nodes in turn.
6 a What is the total weight of the least weight Hamiltonian cycle for this network?
b What is the total weight of the least weight closed tour if nodes can be repeated?
d What is the total weight of the least weight closed tour if nodes can be repeated?
7 Five buildings on a university campus are connected by footpaths. It has been suggested that street
lights should be installed along some of the footpaths.
The cost (in £ ) of installing the street lights on each footpath is shown in the table. The nodes
represent the buildings and the arcs the footpaths.
A security guard wants to be able to walk a circuit using only paths with street lights, starting and
ending at and passing through each of and once.
The university want to minimise the money spent on installing street lights.
a Find a minimum spanning tree for the reduced network formed when all arcs directly joined to
are removed. Hence find a lower bound for the cost for the university.
b Use the nearest neighbour algorithm to find an upper bound for the cost to the university.
c Give a reason why the cost might be greater than the upper bound.
8 A reduced network is formed by removing a certain node from a graph. The resulting lower bound for
the travelling salesperson problem for the original graph has the same total weight as the best upper
bound.
What can you deduce about the minimum spanning tree for the reduced network?
• A network is a weighted graph. This means that each edge of the graph is assigned a
numerical value (a weight) attached to it.
• The weights could, for example, represent distances, costs or travel times between points.
• The vertices in a graph are called nodes in a network.
• The edges in a graph are called arcs in a network.
• The arcs in a network can be undirected or can be directed (like one-way streets).
• A simple network (with no multiple arcs or loops) can be represented using a weighted matrix,
showing the weight of each arc and a blank, or when no arc exists.
• A spanning tree is a tree that connects all the nodes in a network.
• A least weight tree connecting all the nodes is a minimum spanning tree or minimum
connector.
• The total weight of a tree is the sum of the arc weights used in the tree.
• A minimum spanning tree can be found by using Kruskal’s algorithm or using Prim’s algorithm.
• A route is like a cycle or closed trail except that edges can be repeated.
• A Chinese postman problem is the problem of finding a least weight route that uses every arc
of a network. It is also called the route inspection problem.
• Any network formed by weighting an Eulerian graph can be traversed without having to
repeat any arcs.
• Otherwise, arcs need to be doubled up, in the way that uses the least weight possible, so
that the graph that was weighted to form the network becomes Eulerian.
• Sometimes a question will indicate that the route need not start and end at the same node.
In this case, a semi-Eulerian network is needed, where the route will start at one odd-degree
node and finish at another.
• The travelling salesperson problem (TSP) involves finding a least weight cycle through all the
nodes of an undirected graph (the least weight Hamiltonian cycle).
• For a network based on a complete graph, an upper bound can be found by using the
nearest neighbour algorithm.
• The best upper bound for the travelling salesperson problem is the smallest of the upper
bounds that have been found (the least upper bound).
• For a network based on a complete graph, a lower bound can be found by removing a node
and all the arcs from that node and then constructing a minimum spanning tree for the
remaining nodes. The weight of the minimum connector is then added, that is, the two least
weight arcs that reconnect the node to the minimum spanning tree.
• The best lower bound for the travelling salesperson problem is the largest of the lower
bounds that have been found (the greatest lower bound).
• A tour is a closed route through every node that can pass through nodes more than once.
Mixed practice 2
1 A network is described by the distance network shown.
What is the total weight of the minimum spanning tree? Choose from these options.
What is the total weight of the network? Choose from these options.
3 In the network shown in the diagram, the weights represent distances between nodes. The
total length of the arcs is .
b What is the length of the shortest route that starts and finishes at and uses every arc at
least once?
4 a Find a minimum spanning tree for the network described by the distance matrix shown.
b Give the total weight of the tree.
5 a Apply the nearest neighbour algorithm to the network in question , starting at node .
b Calculate a lower bound for the travelling salesperson problem by using the reduced
network formed by removing .
6 A cake decorator wants to mark out a design in icing. To avoid making a mess when starting
and stopping icing, he wants to draw the design as a continuous route.
He will achieve this by duplicating some arcs, but wants to minimise the number of nodes that
are travelled through more than twice.
A B C D E F
G H
J
I K
A 5 B
3 4
7 7
6 C 8
D 7 E
8 Sarah is a mobile hairdresser based at . Her day’s appointments are at five places:
and . She can arrange the appointments in any order. She intends to travel from
one place to the next until she has visited all of the places, starting and finishing at . The
table shows the times, in minutes, that it takes to travel between the six places.
a Sarah decides to visit the places in the order . Find the travelling time of this
tour.
b Explain why this answer can be considered as being an upper bound for the minimum
travelling time of Sarah’s tour.
c Use the nearest neighbour algorithm, starting from , to find another upper bound for the
minimum travelling time of Sarah’s tour.
d By deleting , find a lower bound for the minimum travelling time of Sarah’s tour.
e Sarah thinks that she can reduce her travelling time to minutes. Explain why she is
wrong.
[© AQA 2013]
9 The network below shows towns . The weight on each arc shows the length of
the road, in miles, between the towns. During the winter, the council treats some of the roads
with salt so that each town can be safely reached on treated roads from any other town. It
costs £ to treat a mile of road.
A 5 D 7 G
4 7 8 11
7 C 8 F 5
9 6 10 9
B 8 E 4 H
a i Use Prim’s algorithm starting from , showing the order in which you select the arcs, to
find a minimum spanning tree for the network.
iii Calculate the minimum cost to the council of making it possible for each town to be
safely reached on treated roads from any other town.
b On one occasion, the road from to is impassable because of flooding. Find the
minimum cost of treating sufficient roads for safe travel in this case.
[© AQA 2015]
10 A network connects four nodes. The arc weights are shown in the table. The arcs are all
undirected apart from .
From
The total weight of the arcs that enable travel from any node to any other node is .
11 A network connects six nodes. The arc weights are shown in the table. The arcs are all
undirected apart from and .
From
The total weight of the undirected arcs is and the total weight of all the arcs is .
Find the weight of the least weight route that uses every arc that:
12 The cost (in pence) of travelling by train between eight stations is given in the table.
The cost for any cell marked with is and for any cell marked with is .
Bodmin
Camborne
Falmouth
Looe
Newquay
Penzance
Saltash
Truro
a Use the nearest neighbour algorithm, starting from Truro, to find an upper bound for the
minimum cost of travelling between the eight stations, starting and finishing at Truro.
The upper bounds found by using other stations as the start for nearest neighbour are:
£ £ £ £ £ £ .
b Which of these is the best upper bound?
c By considering the reduced network formed by removing Truro, find a lower bound for the
minimum cost of travelling between the eight stations, starting and finishing at Truro.
The lower bounds found by reducing the network by removing other stations are:
£ £ £ .
e What can you deduce about the minimum cost of travelling between the eight stations,
starting and finishing at Truro?
3 Network flows
If you are following the A Level course, you will also learn how to:
• use flow augmentation to find the maximum flow in a network
refine flow problems to deal with restrictions, such as nodes of restricted capacity.
•
C 4 D
A network flow problem involves finding the maximum possible continuous flow travelling
from a start point to a finish point through a network of routes, along each of which the flow rate
is restricted.
Examples of a network flow problem include maximising the flow of water through a river system from its
source to the sea, maximising the flow of oil through an engine or maximising the flow of blood through a
heart.
• The arcs show the routes that the flow can take (for example, the pipelines).
• The arc weights represent the capacities. The flow along any arc cannot exceed the capacity
of the arc.
Rewind
You learned about networks in Chapter 2, so you are familiar with arcs and arc weights.
Tip
In some cases, the flow in an arc will be directed; this must be the case for the arcs from the
source and the arcs into the sink. There might be other directed arcs if there are valves or other
reasons why the flow can only be in one direction. Often every arc is directed.
This network shows the capacities of the arcs in a network with source and sink .
A 10 C
13 13
5
S T
5
12 12
B 5 D
c
Arc Flow Capacity
For example:
At ,
flow in is along ;
flow out is along and
.
Flow in = flow out at each node (apart from the source and
sink)
For example:
By sending only along , an extra can be sent along both
, , , and .
• The value of a cut is the sum of the capacities of the cut arcs.
• This is the maximum possible flow across the cut from the source side to the sink side,
without looking at the rest of the network. If the flow in a cut arc is from the sink side to the
source side, then it contributes to the value of the cut.
• If an arc is cut multiple times, then a forward flow and a backward flow can be cancelled out
(for example, if an arc is cut twice, then it cancels out and adds to the value; if it is cut
three times, then two of them cancel out).
• The value of a cut is sometimes referred to as the capacity of the cut.
Tip
If the network is drawn on a planar graph, then the cut can be shown as a curve.
Common error
The value of a cut is not the sum of the flows in the cut arcs, which would be the same for every
cut.
A 13 C
17 13
18
S 6 T
14
16 19
B 16 D
If you
Nodes think of
on the
network
source as being
drawn on
side a sheet of
paper, a
Nodes
cut is a
on curve that
starts at
sink the top of
side the sheet
of paper
Cut and ends
at the
arcs bottom of
the sheet
of paper,
with and
on
different
sides of
Value the cut.
of cut If
necessary,
lightly
Nodes shade one
on side of the
cut so that
source you can
side see
whether
Nodes the cut arc
passes
on across the
cut from
sink
to or
side from to
.
Cut It is
arcs enough to
list the
nodes on
the two
sides of
the cut, as
any two
Value cuts with
the same
of cut vertex
sets will
have the
same
value.
Listing all
the cuts is
not
practical
even for a
small
problem.
• A cut with the minimum value is called a minimum cut. A minimum cut forms a bottleneck
that restricts the flow.
In Worked example 3.3 the minimum cut has value . No more than can flow across this cut, so the
maximum flow is at most .
• The maximum flow–minimum cut theorem states that: the maximum flow through a
network equals the minimum cut value.
• When the maximum flow happens, all cut arcs in each minimum cut are saturated.
Tip
Checking every possible cut is not a practical way to find a maximum flow. However, if a flow and
a cut can be found that have the same value, then this must be a maximum flow and a minimum
cut.
This network shows a system of pipes and the capacities of those pipes, in litres per second.
c What can you deduce from the results of part b about the maximum flow?
d Work out the value of:
i the cut through , , and
ii the cut , i.e. the cut that splits the nodes into these two sets.
e What can you deduce from the results of part d about the maximum flow?
f Find a maximum flow and prove that it is the maximum by giving a cut of the same value.
a i can only carry litres per second. The minimum capacity along the route restricts
the flow along the route.
ii litres per second. is the minimum capacity along the
route.
b i litres per second and
ii litres per second and
iii litres per second and share and so
although can flow along either of these, only
can flow in total.
• In some situations, there might be multiple sources (for example, there might be several rivers
supplying flow to a lake). Then a single supersource is used to supply the sources.
• The capacity of the arc from the supersource to each source must be greater than or equal to
the sum of the capacities of the arcs from that source.
• Similarly, a flow might have multiple sinks (for example, a river might flow into several lakes).
Then a single supersink is used that all the sinks drain into.
• The capacity of the arc from each sink to the supersink must be greater than or equal to the
sum of the capacities of the arcs into that sink.
EXERCISE 3A
12 8
6
S 5 T
10
9 14
B 6 D
2 For the network in question , work out the value of the cut that separates the nodes , and from
the nodes , and .
3 For the network in question , what is the maximum possible flow in arc ?
4 For the network in question , work out the value of the cut
8 5
10
S
15
10 8
B 18 D 9 T2
6 This network shows the capacities of the arcs in a network. Three cuts are marked on the network.
A 9 C
12 13
10
S
13
20
D
B 11 11 T
8
12 7
E
a b c
12 13
10
S
13
20
D
B 11 11 T
8
12 7
8 For the network in question , if the arc has a flow of , what is the maximum flow in:
a arc
b arc
c arc ?
9 For the network in question , what would be the effect on the maximum flow of each of these
changes?
a The capacity of arc is increased to .
b The direction of flow in is reversed.
c The capacity of arc is reduced to .
7 6
15
C D
16 21 14 10
E F
21
3 4
G 20 H
a Which node is the source?
b Which node is the sink?
c What is the maximum flow through vertex ?
d Show that the maximum flow is .
Section 2: Variations on flow problems
A flow can be augmented to construct a maximum flow.
• The potential increase on an arc is the amount by which the flow in that arc can be
increased without exceeding the capacity, and the potential decrease on an arc is the
amount by which the flow in that arc can be decreased.
This network shows a system of pipes and their capacities. The numbers in circles represent an
initial flow.
A 8 8 C 10 8 E
18 8 12 12 8
11
S T
15
20 7 10 13 7
B 10 7 D 7 7 F
b Mark the potential increase and the potential decrease on each arc.
a and
b
• A potential (in either direction) of means that no more can flow in that direction.
Otherwise the flow can be augmented.
When no further augmenting paths are possible the maximum flow has been achieved.
b Use further flow augmentations to find the value of the maximum flow.
b For example:
• It might be necessary to put a lower limit on the capacities, for example, if an engine
needs to be lubricated. In this situation, both a lower capacity and an upper capacity
are shown on the arcs.
Common error
When calculating the value of a cut, arcs that flow from the source to the sink are at their
upper capacities and arcs that flow from the sink to the source are at their lower capacities
(which need not be zero). The value of the cut is the sum of the upper capacities for the
arcs in which the flow is forwards across the cut minus the sum of the lower capacities for
the arcs in which the flow is backwards across the cut.
Tip
This network shows the lower and upper capacities of a system of pipes.
A 1,6 D
2,4 0,6
3,3
C
S T
6,8
2,4
1,8 3,5
B 5,10 E
b By first considering the flow through , what can you deduce about the flow in ?
c What is the value of the cut through , , and ?
d Suppose that units flows along . What are the potential increase and the potential
decrease in arc ?
e Find a flow with value .
e
Path Flow
There are other ways to describe the flow. This is the only feasible
flow through the network.
• A node might have a restricted capacity. This means that there is a limit to the amount
that can flow through the node.
• The node, , is split into two separate nodes, and , say, with connected to all
the arcs that have flows to the node and connected to all the arcs that have flows
from the node. An arc connects to with capacity equal to the node restriction.
17 13
18
S 6 T
14
16 19
B 16 D
b Flow along
Flow along
Flow
EXERCISE 3B
1 What is the maximum flow along arc in this network? Choose from these options.
D
A 3,8 D
B 2,5 E
2 Find the minimum flow through C in the network in question .
3 Calculate the value of the cut through , , and in the network in question .
2,5 0,6
3,4
S T
C 6,7
2,4
1,4 3,5
B 4,6 E
5 This network shows potential increases and potential decreases for a flow through a network.
A 6 C
7 8 3 5
4 7 4
S 6 7 T
12 12 9
16 10 13 0
B 16 D
By considering the potential increase and potential decrease in arc , what can you deduce
about:
a the flow
b the upper capacity of this arc?
6 For the network in question , the upper capacity of is . What is the flow in the arcs and
?
8 The network shows a system of pipes with their lower and upper capacities. The numbers in
circles represent an initial flow.
d By using further flow augmenting routes, find the maximum flow, in terms of if necessary.
e Prove that this flow is maximum.
• A network flow problem involves finding the maximum possible continuous flow travelling from
a start point to a finish point through a network of routes in each of which the flow rate is
restricted.
• The arcs show the routes that the flow can take.
• The arc weights represent the capacities.
• All flows start from a source and end at a sink.
• At all other nodes, the flow that enters the node equals the flow that leaves the node.
• A saturated arc is one that is full to capacity (flow = capacity).
• A cut is a partition of the nodes into two sets, one of which contains the source and the other
of which contains the sink.
• The value of a cut is the sum of the capacities of the cut arcs.
• A minimum cut is a cut with the minimum value. A minimum cut forms a ‘bottleneck’ that
restricts the flow.
• The maximum flow–minimum cut theorem states that: the maximum flow through a network
equals the minimum cut value.
• A supersource can be used to supply multiple sources. The capacity of the arc from the
supersource to each source must be greater than or equal to the sum of the capacities of the
arcs from that source.
• A supersink can be supplied from multiple sinks. The capacity of the arc from each sink to the
supersink must be greater than or equal to the sum of the capacities of the arcs into that sink.
• The potential increase on an arc is the amount by which the flow in that arc can be increased
without exceeding the capacity, and the potential decrease is the amount by which the flow in
that arc can be decreased.
• A potential (in either direction) of means that no more can flow in that direction. Otherwise
the flow can be augmented. When no further augmenting paths are possible the maximum
flow has been achieved. This method is called the labelling procedure.
• A node might have a restricted capacity. The node, , is split into two separate nodes, and
, say, with connected to all the arcs that have flows to the node and connected to all
the arcs that have flows from the node. An arc connects to with capacity equal to the
node restriction.
Mixed practice 3
1 A system of pipes is shown.
What is the value of the cut through , , ? Choose from these options.
A 5 C
9 7
S 5 T
4 7
B 6 D
Which of the arcs must be saturated in a maximum flow? Choose from these options.
3 The diagram shows a network of pipes, with source and sink , and the capacities of those
pipes.
A 12 D
15 8 16
12
S T
C
11 16 20
B 17 E
4 The diagram shows the network from question with two cuts and .
A 12 D
C2
15 8 16
12
S T
C
11 16 20
C1 17
B E
c What can you deduce from your results in parts and a and b?
6 The network shows a set of pipes with source and sink . The weights on the arcs give the
capacities.
A 14 D
15 18 20
23 C
S T
11
18 24 20
B 17 E
b Draw a diagram to show the potential increase and the potential decrease on each arc
when the flow in part a is used.
c Use further flow augmenting paths to find the maximum flow from to . Show the
potential increase and the potential decrease on each arc when the maximum flow is
achieved.
A 20 T1
21 10
12
C
S
5
8 6
B 3 T2
a Add a supersink and weight the arcs that you have added.
c Find, by inspection, a maximum flow through the network. State the value of this flow.
8 The diagram shows a network of pipes with source and sink . The capacity of each pipe is
given by the number on each arc.
B 30 E 20 H
5 10 10 10 10 30
60 10 10
A J
D G
5 10 10 10 10 30
C2
C1
C 20 F 20 I
c i On a certain day, the section is blocked. Find, by inspection, the maximum flow on
this day.
9 The weights in this network show the lower and upper arc capacities.
d How much can the flow be increased using the augmenting path ?
10 a The diagram shows a network of pipes. The capacity of each pipe is given by the number
not circled on each arc. The numbers in circles represent an initial flow.
b i Use the initial flow and the labelling procedure to find the maximum flow through the
network. List your flow augmenting paths and adjust the potential increases and
potential decreases on the arcs.
ii State the value of the maximum flow. List a possible flow along each arc
corresponding to this maximum flow.
c Confirm that you have a maximum flow by finding a cut of the same value. List the cut
arcs.
Find, by inspection, the maximum flow through the network on this day.
11 The network shown represents a system of pipes through which fluid flows from a source to a
sink.
The circled numbers show the flows through some of the arcs.
A 3 D 5 F
2 2
B G
3
8 3
C E H
b Explain why the direction of the flow in the arc between and must be from to .
c If the arc from to has no flow in it, find the flow in each of the other arcs.
d If the flow in the arc from to is , find the flow in each of the other arcs.
4 Linear programming
If you are following the A Level course you will also learn how to:
• use slack variables
use the simplex algorithm to optimise an objective
•
interpret a simplex tableau.
•
A car ferry can carry standard cars and large cars. A standard car has length up to metres and
mass up to tonnes when fully loaded. A large car has length between metres and
metres and mass between and tonnes when fully loaded.
Allowing for some space between cars, the ferry company allows metres for each standard car and
metres for each large car. The mass of a standard car is assumed to be tonnes and the mass of a
large car to be tonnes. The ferry has enough space for metres of cars and can carry up to
tonnes of cars.
The profit for each standard car transported is £ and for each large car is £ . The ferry company
wants to know the maximum profit that it could make on a single ferry crossing.
c Identify the constraints on the values of the variables and represent these algebraically.
a number of standard cars The variables are the number of cars of each
number of large cars type. Defining the variables involves stating
what each letter represents and stating
appropriate units (in this case ‘number of’).
b Maximise Maximise the profit (in £).
c Constraints on the values of and :
– total length
– total mass tonnes
– non-negativity (‘trivial’ constraints)
– restriction to avoid decimal bits of cars.
Representing the constraints algebraically:
• The region where all the constraints of a linear programming problem are satisfied is called the
feasible region.
• It is useful to shade out the unwanted regions of the graph to leave the feasible region as the
WORKED unshaded
EXAMPLE(clean)
4.2 region.
Sketch a graph of the feasible region for the problem from Worked example 4.1.
Common error
Be careful about the gradients when plotting the lines. For example, in Worked example 4.2, the
line passes through and or it is the line with gradient
Tip
The constraints might be given as text or in a table. Sometimes the constraints involve ratios
rather than specific values. It could be useful to substitute specific values to help plot the
boundary line for such a constraint.
A small café sells two different takeaway lunch deals. Type costs £ and consists of a filled roll, a
piece of fruit and a bottle of water. Type costs £ and consists of a sandwich and two pieces of fruit.
The café has pieces of fruit available and bottles of water. There is no restriction on the
number of rolls or amount of bread, but there is only enough filling for rolls or for sandwiches, or
for some mixture of rolls and sandwiches.
The café wants to find the maximum amount of money that they can make from selling lunch deals.
subject to:
Pieces of fruit.
Bottles of water.
Filling.
There is enough filling for , or for
, . If the constraint is not obvious, then
one way to deal with this is to suppose that each
roll uses, say, units of filling; then there are
units of filling and each sandwich uses units of
filling. This gives , which is
equivalent to the given constraint.
Non-negativity.
A gardener has of garden. She wants to plant vegetables on at least of the garden and
she wants the area used for flowers to be at least twice as big as the area used for vegetables. The
remainder of the garden (that is not used for flowers or vegetables) will be covered in turf.
Preparing the ground for vegetables and planting vegetables costs £ per , preparing the ground
for flowers and planting flowers costs £ per and laying turf costs £ per .
The gardener wants to know what to buy to keep the cost to a minimum.
area planted as vegetables The total area is , so the area that is covered in turf is
area planted as flowers .
Minimise Cost in £ .
Equivalently, maximise .
subject to:
At least of vegetables.
Area used for flowers is at least twice the area used for
vegetables (for example, if , then ).
Non-negativity for area that is turfed.
Non-negativity for and .
Between and of these calories should come from carbohydrates, between and from
protein and the rest from fats and oils.
Carbohydrates come from fruit, vegetables and starchy foods. Some vegetables are also protein rich.
A portion of protein rich vegetables contains on average calories of carbohydrates and calories
of protein.
A nutritionist wants to know the minimum number of portions of vegetables (including protein rich
vegetables) to recommend.
subject to:
, are integers.
Ben is taking part in a TV quiz show. He has hours remaining before the show is filmed. Ben wants
to spend some time studying for his specialist round, some time studying for the general knowledge
round and some time sleeping.
Ben believes that each hour spent studying for the specialist round will increase his overall score by
points and each hour spent studying for the general knowledge round will increase his overall score
by point. Of the time that Ben spends studying, at least must be spent on the general
knowledge round.
Ben needs to spend at least hours sleeping. Each hour spent sleeping will increase his overall score
by points.
Ben wants to know how long to spend studying for each round and how long to spend sleeping to
maximise the increase in his overall score.
subject to:
At most hours available.
So
At least hours sleeping.
Maximise
subject to:
b
Total time used is equal to hours.
So
so
Maximise
subject to:
EXERCISE 4A
One of the constraints is that the amount of coffee sold must be more than three times the amount of
tea sold.
Which of the points is feasible? Choose from these options.
Jamie makes two types of energy drink using water and dry ingredients that he buys in bulk.
The table shows the amount of each dry ingredient (in grams) needed for 1 litre of each energy drink
and the total amount of each ingredient that is available.
Jamie wants to maximise the total amount of energy drink that he makes.
Ingredients:
Drink
Xtra
Yepp
Amount available
6 Work out the exact coordinates of the vertices of the feasible region for the problem in question 5.
7 a Which of the constraints are redundant (do not contribute to the feasible region) in the formulation
for question 5?
b Use algebra to explain why the constraints named in part a really are redundant.
• The objective function for a linear programming problem is of the form , where is
fixed. This is a straight line of fixed gradient, with different values of giving different values of
the objective. This gives a set of straight lines of fixed gradient (a set of parallel lines), also
called objective lines. As the value of the objective increases, the objective lines slide across
the feasible region, while keeping their gradient constant. The higher the value of , the greater
the value of the objective.
• The optimum vertex is the point where the sliding objective line last touches the feasible
region. This will occur at a vertex of the feasible region (or along an edge if both ends of the
edge are optimal).
• To find the optimal value for a linear programming problem, you can either:
• slide an objective line across the feasible region, in the direction of increasing value of the
objective, to determine the optimal vertex (or edge) and then calculate the value of the
objective at that vertex (or edge) or
• calculate the value of the objective at every vertex of the feasible region and deduce the
optimum.
Common error
You can find the optimal vertex approximately from the graph, but the values might not be
accurate enough.
For an accurate answer, you should solve the simultaneous equations. You can do this by
using a solver on a calculator.
a y
8
7 You graphed the feasible region in Before you start ...
question 1 at the start of this chapter. Note that in this
6 example the feasible region is the shaded region rather than
5 the unshaded region.
Choose a point in the feasible region, for example . At
4
this point, the value of is . Graph the line
3 (i.e. ) passing through and .
2 Do the same for another value of (for example
passing through and ).
1
The objective lines will be parallel. Slide the objective lines in
x the direction of increasing until they reach a vertex of the
O 1 2 3 4 feasible region.
Optimum vertex is , where
.
b The gradient of the objective line
is . The objective line is .
As increases, the gradient of the
objective line will decrease.
edge from to
c y
8
7
The objective line now has gradient , so , and the
6
optimal vertex is .
5
Changing to will bring that edge of the
4 feasible region down to pass through and .
3
2
1
O x
1 2 3 4
Vertices of new feasible region
are , and .
The optimal vertex is now at
, where .
Tip
The vertex checking method is usually easier but the sliding objective line method is better when
changes are made to the coefficients in the objective or constraints. It can also be useful when
the variables are restricted to taking integer values.
Maximise
subject to:
The optimum is at
.
However, the original problem also had the
Informally, it is usually good enough to check integer-
restriction that and are both integers.
valued feasible points near the optimal vertex.
gives
Common error
The optimal integer-valued point is usually near the optimal vertex. However, if the gradient of
the objective line is similar to an edge of the feasible region at the optimum vertex, then the
optimal integer-valued point is not necessarily near the optimal vertex.
When the variables are restricted to being integers, it might be possible to use the feasible region and
superimpose a grid of integer points.
By using a grid of integer points, or by considering the maximum feasible value of for each feasible
value of , show that the optimal vertex for the problem in Worked example 4.8 is at .
EXERCISE 4B
1 The diagram shows the feasible region for a linear programming problem with two objective lines
marked.
Which is the optimal vertex when the objective is to minimise ? Choose from these options.
3 The vertices of the feasible region for a linear programming problem are and
.
The objective is to maximise .
Find the maximum value of on the feasible region.
4 The constraints of a linear programming problem are:
5 The borders of the feasible region for a linear programming problem are and
.
6 The objective for the linear programming problem in question 5 is to maximise where is
a positive constant.
There is more than one optimal vertex.
Find the maximum value of .
maximise
subject to
and .
and .
maximise
subject to
• Slack variables are non-negative variables that are added to the constraints of a linear
programming problem to make inequality constraints into equations.
Use slack variables to rewrite the constraints from Worked example 4.1 as equations.
becomes
Slack variables are usually denoted by , , etc. or
becomes
by , , etc., where these are .
and also
• The simplex algorithm is an algebraic method that can be used to solve a linear
programming problem in the form:
Maximise a linear function of the variables subject to a set of constraints, each of which is
of the form:
Maximise
• The standard format for a simplex tableau has a row representing the objective followed
by rows for the constraints (the non-trivial constraints). The columns represent the
objective, followed by the variables and then the slack variables; the final column
represents the right-hand side of the equations.
Maximise
subject to:
.
The simplex algorithm works by carrying out iterations, as follows, until the objective row has no
negative entries.
• Choose a column with a negative entry in the objective row. The pivot row is the one for which the
non-negative value of the entry in the final column divided by the positive value in the pivot
column is minimised. The pivot element is the element in the pivot row of the chosen column.
• Divide all entries in the pivot row by the value of the pivot element.
Add to, or subtract from, all other old rows a multiple of the new pivot row, so that the pivot column
•
ends up consisting of and a single .
Tip
You will sometimes be told which column to choose, but if there is a choice it is usual to
choose the column with the most negative entry in the objective row (or, if there is more
than one such column, to choose from amongst these the one for which the corresponding
column appears earliest in the tableau).
Similarly, if there is more than one row giving the minimum ratio, choose any one of them.
Identify a suitable pivot for the tableau from Worked example 4.11.
Tip
Always show how you worked out the ratios and state the pivot.
Carry out one iteration of the simplex tableau from Worked example 4.11.
Common error
If you choose the wrong element for the pivot, then the value in the final column in the row
that should have been the pivot row will be negative.
Tip
To avoid rounding errors, use fractions if the values obtained are not exact decimals.
• A variable that corresponds to a column in the tableau that consists entirely of and a
single is called a basic variable. The other variables are called non-basic variables.
An iteration of the simplex tableau consists of making a non-basic variable into a basic variable and
making a basic variable into a non-basic variable.
Common error
Note that the values of the variables are read from the final column and not from the
objective row.
Interpret the output of the simplex tableau from Worked example 4.13.
The constraint is The basic variables are and . The values of these are
found by reading down to the and then across to the final
at its limit ( so no column.
slack). and .
and are because the value in the final column is .
and are because they are non-basic (their columns do not
consist of and a single ).
• If the objective row has no negative entries, then an optimum solution has been achieved.
Carry out another iteration of the simplex algorithm on the tableau from Worked example 4.14
and interpret the output.
.
b Investigate the effect of choosing the first pivot from a different column.
a Continuing from the tableau found in Worked example 4.15, the next pivot is column row
as this is the only row with a positive entry in the pivot column.
The resulting tableau is:
and
b If the first pivot is chosen from the -column, the result of the first iteration is:
Choosing the next pivot from the -column results in the same tableau as in Worked
example 4.15, which then leads to the same solution as in part a.
Or, choosing the next pivot from the y-column (remembering that the pivot element must
be positive) gives:
The next iteration gives the same final tableau as in part a when the first pivot was from
the -column.
For this problem, this is the only solution and it is achieved after a total of three iterations
whichever column is chosen for each of the pivot choices.
Fast forward
You will use the simplex algorithm again in Chapter 6 Game theory for zero-sum games to
solve problems in which two players have more than two strategies to choose from and
wish to maximise their winnings.
You can also use the simplex algorithm to minimise an objective, provided the variables are non-
negative and the origin is a vertex of the feasible region.
• To use the simplex algorithm to minimise an objective, change the objective from
minimise to maximise where .
minimise
subject to:
Initial tableau:
and
So
and
Minimum non-negative ratio is in row .
Divide entries in row by to get .
Then:
replace row by row
replace row by row .
Tip
minimise
subject to:
Which is the correct solution? Identify the errors made in the incorrect solutions.
Solution 1
Solution 2
Solution 3
EXERCISE 4C
EXERCISE 4C
2 Which element is the pivot choice for the next iteration of this simplex tableau for a
maximisation problem?
3 Does this tableau represent an optimal solution for a maximisation problem? Explain how you
know.
5 Which element is the pivot choice for the next iteration of this simplex tableau for a
maximisation problem?
6 Carry out one iteration of the simplex tableau, using the 5 in column row 3 as the pivot.
7 Use the simplex algorithm to solve the linear programming problem:
maximise
subject to:
8 a Apply the simplex method to the initial tableau shown, choosing the initial pivot from the -
column.
b Apply the simplex method to the initial tableau shown, choosing the initial pivot from the -
column.
c By considering the original linear programming problem, interpret the output from parts a
and b.
Emma is taking part in a TV quiz show. She has hours remaining before the show is filmed.
Emma wants to spend some time studying for her specialist round, some time studying for the
general knowledge round and some time sleeping.
Emma believes that each hour spent studying for the specialist round will increase her overall
score by points and each hour spent studying for the general knowledge round will increase
her overall score by points. Of the time that Emma spends studying, at least must be
spent on the general knowledge round.
Emma needs to spend at least hours sleeping. Each hour spent sleeping will increase her
overall score by points.
Emma wants to know how long to spend studying for each round and how long to spend
sleeping to maximise the increase in her overall score.
Use the simplex algorithm to solve Emma’s problem.
What is the value in the cell that is the initial pivot? Choose from these options.
3 A linear programming problem involves two variables and . The values of and must be
non-negative, the total of and must be at most and must be no more than three
times .
a maximise
b minimise .
as equations.
6 Without doing any further work, what can you deduce from this tableau about the maximum
value of ?
7 The feasible region for a linear programming problem has vertices and
.
8 a Write out the linear programming formulation that is represented by this initial simplex
tableau when the objective is to maximise .
b Which entry would be the pivot for the first iteration of the simplex method?
9 A baker has enough flour to make loaves or buns. He has plenty of all the other
ingredients. The only other restriction is the baker’s time; he has hours available to prepare
the loaves and buns. A loaf takes minutes to prepare and a tray of buns takes minutes.
Each loaf gives a profit of pence and each bun gives a profit of pence.
The baker makes loaves and buns, where and are non-negative integers.
b Find how many loaves and how many trays of buns the baker should make.
10 Maximise
subject to:
and .
a Display the linear programming problem in a simplex tableau.
b i The first pivot to be chosen is from the -column. Identify the pivot and explain why this
particular value is chosen.
c Interpret your final tableau and state the values of your slack variables.
[© AQA 2016]
11 A company producing chicken food makes three products, Basic, Premium and Supreme, from
wheat, maize and barley.
The company has tonnes of wheat, tonnes of maize and tonnes of barley available.
The company makes £ profit per tonne of Basic, £ per tonne of Premium and £ per
tonne of Supreme.
They plan to make tonnes of Basic, tonnes of Premium and tonnes of Supreme.
c Illustrate the constraints graphically and label the feasible region. Your graph should have
an -axis from to and a -axis from to .
d Write an expression for , the profit for the whole production, in terms of and only.
e i By drawing an objective line on your graph, or otherwise, find the values of and which
give the maximum profit.
ii State the maximum profit and the amount of each product that must be made.
[© AQA 2015]
12 This tableau has been produced after one iteration of the simplex algorithm.
The value of is positive.
a What was the value in the cell that was used for the pivot in the first iteration?
b Find the optimal solution, in terms of .
The optimal value of is .
maximise
subject to:
minimise
subject to:
CROSS-TOPIC REVIEW EXERCISE 1
A is Eulerian.
B is semi-Eulerian.
C is simple connected.
D has edges.
What is a least weight cycle through all the vertices? Choose from these options.
D
3 The network shows the capacities of a system of pipelines.
c Using the values of the cuts and , what can you deduce about the maximum flow
through the network?
4 A paintballing battle takes place in a forest. The tracks through the forest are represented by
the arcs in the network shown.
The nodes correspond to ‘safe zones’ and the arc weights represent travel times between safe
zones, in minutes.
At the end of the battle the organisers need to check along every track for damage.
b Find the minimum time needed to travel a route that starts and ends at and uses every
arc at least once.
b What is the minimum number of arcs that the graph can have?
c Explain why the graph cannot be simple-connected.
6 By graphing the feasible region, find the minimum value of subject to the constraints
, and .
7 a Carry out one iteration of this simplex tableau when the objective is to maximise .
b Interpret the resulting tableau, including whether the constraints are limiting or not.
8 Coloured paint is mixed by using different ratios of red, yellow, blue, white and black paint.
The total amount of paint used must not exceed one litre.
The amount of blue paint must be more than twice the amount of yellow paint.
The desirability value of a mixed colour is given by the amount of blue plus the amount of
black minus the amount of red. The desirability is to be as large as possible.
9 A document, which is currently written in English, is to be translated into six other European
Union languages. The cost of translating the document varies as it is harder to find translators
for some languages.
Danish
English
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Spanish
a i On a copy of the table, showing the order in which you select the arcs, use Prim’s
algorithm, starting from , to find a minimum spanning tree for the graph connecting ,
, , , , and .
ii Find the total cost of using the arcs in your minimum spanning tree.
c i Apply the nearest neighbour algorithm, starting at , to find the cost of a closed route
through all the vertices.
ii By initially reducing the network by removing vertex , find a lower bound for the least
cost closed route through the six towns.
d Using only your answers to part c, what can you deduce about the cheapest cost route that
travels through each town at least once, starting and ending at ?
11 The network shows a system of pipes from to and their capacities.
a Explain why:
i the flow in arc cannot be
12 The network shows a system of pipes with lower and upper capacities for each pipe, in litres
per second.
ii Hence state what can be deduced about the maximum flow from to .
b The diagram shows a partially completed feasible flow of litres per second from to .
What are the missing flows on the arcs , and ?
c i Using your feasible flow from part b as an initial flow, draw a diagram to indicate
potential increases and decreases of the flow along each arc.
ii Use flow augmentation to find the maximum flow from to . You should indicate any
flow augmenting paths in a table and modify the potential increases and decreases of
the flow on your network.
iii State the value of the maximum flow and draw a diagram to show a maximum flow.
[© AQA 2016]
13 A graph has adjacency matrix:
a Apply Euler’s formula to find the number of regions, given that the graph is planar.
0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 2
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0
Graph 3 Graph 4
c Write down the optimal value of and the values of , and at the optimum vertex.
16 The network shows a system of pipes with their lower and upper capacities. The numbers in
circles show an initial flow.
When the route inspection algorithm is used on a network with four odd nodes, six shortest
paths need to be found. These form three sets of two paths (for example, and ; and
; and ).
a i How many shortest paths need to be found when the route inspection algorithm is used
on a network with six odd nodes?
a A student claims that the first constraint means that is at most twice as large as .
What should the student have said?
b If , what values can take?
The objective is to maximise , where is a positive constant.
If you are following the A Level course you will also learn how to:
• construct and interpret Gantt (cascade) diagrams and resource histograms
carry out resource levelling and deal with resourcing restrictions.
•
• A project is represented by an activity network, in which the activities are represented by the
nodes and the arcs represent events (moments in time between activities).
• The nodes can be represented using box notation to show the activity name and duration,
together with space for working.
Tip
For example, if the duration of activity is minutes, then you would show it as:
The table shows the activities involved in a project and their immediate predecessors.
Duration Immediate
Activity
(days) predecessors
If there are enough workers available, the time needed to complete the project is limited by the longest
(maximum weight) route(s).
• A forward pass involves moving through an activity network and finding the earliest start and
finish time for each activity.
• When an activity has two or more predecessors they must all be finished before the activity
can start.
• The earliest start times are recorded in the left-hand lower box.
Carry out a forward pass on the network from Worked example 5.2 to find the earliest start times.
• The minimum project completion time is the largest of the earliest finish times.
• A backward pass involves moving through an activity network from the end(s) towards the
start(s) and finding the latest finish time and latest start time for each activity, without
delaying the entire project.
• The latest finish times are recorded in the right-hand lower box.
Common error
The latest finish times should not be confused with earliest finish times.
Carry out a backward pass on the network from Worked example 5.3 to find the latest finish times.
Tip
• Any activity for which the difference between the earliest start time and the latest finish time is
the same as the activity duration is a critical activity.
• The critical activities form a critical path through the network. There could be more than one
critical path.
• Any delay in a critical activity will delay the completion of the project.
• Delays in non-critical activities might or might not delay the completion of the project.
• The float on an activity is the amount by which the difference between the earliest start time
and the latest finish time of the activity exceeds the activity duration.
• Float = (latest finish time − earliest start time) − (activity duration).
• The float represents how long the activity could be delayed without delaying the completion
of the project. Delays on more than one activity might interfere with one another.
• Critical activities have zero float.
b The start of activity is delayed by days. What effect does this have on the minimum project
completion time?
a
EXERCISE 5A
1 An activity network includes an activity with immediate predecessors and (and no others).
The boxes show the earliest start and latest finish times for and as well as the duration for
and .
What is the earliest start time for ? Choose from these options.
A
B
3 An activity has duration hours. It has earliest start time hours and latest finish time hours.
Calculate the float for this activity.
5 The table shows the activities involved in a project, their durations and immediate predecessors.
Find:
a the minimum project completion time
b the critical path(s).
6 The table shows the activities involved in a project, their durations and immediate predecessors.
7 A project involves seven activities, and . The table shows the durations of these
activities and their earliest start times and latest finish times (in hours).
8 For the project in question , a delay means that the duration of activity increases from hours
to hours and the duration of activity increases from hours to hours.
a What is the new project completion time?
b Which activities are now critical?
9 The activities involved in a project, their durations, in days, and immediate predecessors are given
in the table.
• Some of the float can be shared between two or more activities. A delay in one of these
activities has an effect on how much other activities can then be delayed.
The start of activity is delayed by minutes. This is equivalent to increasing the duration of to
minutes.
b i What is the new minimum completion time?
ii How long could the start of activity be delayed without the project completion being further
affected?
b i minutes The earliest finish for becomes and the earliest finish for
becomes No other activities are affected.
ii becomes critical.
The latest finish for changes to and the latest finish for and
to
c i Project completion time can start at and finish at , had minutes of
minutes float so the duration could be increased to before it had an
It increases by minutes. effect on the minimum project completion time.
There are various graphs that are useful when visualising the float and activity start and finish times.
These include Gantt charts and resource histograms.
Did you know?
The first cascade chart was devised in the 1890s by a Polish engineer, Karol Adamiecki.
Cascade charts are now known as Gantt charts after the American engineer who, in the
early 1900s, devised the version of the chart that is widely used today. The charts were
originally drawn by hand, but since the advent of computer technology it has become much
easier to draw them and make amendments when necessary during a project. You can
investigate the usefulness of Gantt charts, and some of the software that can be used to
draw them, online.
• A Gantt chart has a horizontal time axis and a row for each activity. Each activity is
shown as a block of time.
• Sometimes you will be told that each activity starts at its earliest start time and
sometimes that each activity starts at its latest start time.
• Float is shown using dashed lines.
The critical activities are sometimes shown in a single row.
•
Tip
For clarity, it might be appropriate to use shading or use horizontal lines through the middle
of the boxes, for the activity or the float.
Tip
A Gantt chart does not show interference between activities, but you can see these from
the precedences in the activity network.
Construct a Gantt chart for the project in Worked example 5.6 (before the delays in parts b and
c took effect). Show each activity starting at its latest start time.
For reference:
When using a Gantt chart to construct a schedule, the non-critical activities can ‘move’ horizontally
within their boxes, provided the activity precedences are taken into account.
Tip
The number of workers required for each activity in the project in Worked example 5.7 is given
in this table.
Activity
Number of workers
a For completion in minutes, activities and must overlap by at least minutes (earliest
finish for and latest start for ), but and together need
workers.
For reference:
b For example:
• A resource histogram has a horizontal time axis and shows the resource (usually the
number of workers) on the vertical axis.
• The critical activities are usually placed along the bottom of the histogram.
• Usually each activity will start at its earliest start time, but sometimes you will be given
other conditions (for example, to start each activity at its latest start time).
• Float is not shown on a resource histogram.
The individual activities need not appear as rectangular blocks, although often they will.
•
Common error
Resource levelling involves trying to share out the resources more evenly. Usually this means trying
to minimise the number of workers needed. A resource histogram (together with a Gantt chart or
activity network) is useful for deciding which activities can be delayed so that the number of workers
is minimised.
In this example the critical activities are , and , but requires no workers and the
diagram is made neater by putting below .
b Start with and , once has finished do . By the time finishes is already complete, so
(and ) can start, finishing at time and can be followed by .
For reference:
Activity
Workers
EXERCISE 5B
1 Which graph(s) could be the shape of a resource histogram? Choose from these options.
A Workers
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 5 10 Time
E
D
C
B
A
0 5 Time
a How do you know that the activities are shown starting at their earliest start times?
Each activity needs one team of workers.
b Give a schedule that enables two teams of workers to complete the project in days.
3 The table shows the activities in a project, the duration (in hours) and the number of workers
needed for each.
Activity
Duration
Workers
4 The table shows the activities involved in a project, their durations, in hours, and their immediate
predecessors.
5 Draw a Gantt chart for the project in question 4 b iii. Show each activity starting at its earliest
start time.
T
S
R
Q
P
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Days
a Construct a table to show the duration and immediate predecessors for each activity.
Each critical activity needs one worker and each non-critical activity needs two workers.
7 The table shows the activities involved in a project, their durations, in minutes, and immediate
predecessors.
8 The table shows the activities involved in a project, their durations, in hours, their immediate
predecessors and the number of workers needed.
a By considering the number of worker-hours needed, show that the project cannot be completed
by workers in hours.
The critical activities are and .
b Explain why at least workers are needed to complete the project in hours.
c Find the minimum time in which workers can complete the project.
d How many hours can be saved if workers are available?
• A project is represented by an activity network, in which the activities are represented by the
nodes and the arcs represent events (moments in time between activities).
• A forward pass involves moving through an activity network and finding the earliest start and
finish time for each activity. When an activity has two or more predecessors they must all be
finished before the activity can start.
• The minimum project completion time is the largest of the earliest finish times.
• A backward pass involves moving through an activity network from the end(s) towards the
start(s) and finding the latest finish time and latest start time for each activity, without
delaying the entire project.
• Any activity for which the difference between the earliest start time and the latest finish time
is the same as the activity duration is a critical activity. The critical activities form a critical
path through the network. There might be more than one critical path.
• Any delay in a critical activity will delay the completion of the project.
• Delays in non-critical activities might or might not delay the completion of the project.
• The float on an activity is the amount by which the difference between the earliest start time
and the latest finish time of the activity exceeds the activity duration.
• Float = (latest finish time − earliest start time) − (activity duration).
• The float represents how long the activity could be delayed without delaying the completion
of the project. Delays on more than one activity might interfere with one another.
• Critical activities have zero float.
• A Gantt chart has a horizontal time axis and a row for each activity. Each activity is shown as a
block of time.
• Sometimes you will be told that each activity starts at its earliest start time and sometimes
that each activity starts at its latest start time.
• Float is shown using dashed lines.
• The critical activities are sometimes shown in a single row.
• A resource histogram has a horizontal time axis and shows the resource (usually the number of
workers) on the vertical axis.
• The critical activities are usually placed along the bottom of the histogram.
• Usually each activity will start at its earliest start time, but sometimes you will be given
other conditions (for example, to start each activity at its latest start time).
• Float is not shown on a resource histogram.
• A resource histogram has no vertical gaps (no ‘holes’ and no ‘overhanging blocks’).
Mixed practice 5
1 An activity has earliest start time hours, latest finish time hours and hours of float.
What is the duration of the activity? Choose from these options.
A hours
B hours
C hours
D hours
2
Activity Immediate Duration
predecessors (days)
What is the minimum project completion time for this project? Choose from these options.
A days
B days
C days
D days
C
A F
D
B G
4 a If, in question 3, the duration of activity is hours instead of hours, what changes will
there be in:
5 The table lists the activities involved in a project, their durations, in minutes, and their
immediate predecessors.
Which activity could be delayed by minutes without there being any change to the minimum
project completion time?
6 The table lists the activities in a project, their durations, in hours, and their immediate
predecessors.
b What is the longest delay for the minimum project completion time to remain unchanged?
7 A major project has been divided into a number of tasks, as shown in the table. The minimum
time required to complete each task is also shown.
[© AQA 2014]
8 The table shows the activities in a project, their durations (in hours) and their immediate
predecessors.
a Calculate the earliest start time and the latest finish time for each activity.
b Construct a Gantt chart for the project, with each activity starting at its earliest start time.
Each activity requires workers.
c Construct a schedule to show how workers can complete the project in hours.
9 The diagram shows an activity network for a project. Each activity requires one worker. The
duration required for each activity is given in hours.
a Find the earliest start time and latest finish time for each activity.
b i Find the critical path.
10 The activities in a project, their durations (in hours) and immediate predecessors are shown in
the table.
c Draw a resource histogram showing each activity starting at its earliest start time.
d Show how Cal and Sam can complete the project together in no more than hours.
6 Game theory for zero-sum games
The games considered are between two players or two teams who choose between a number of
strategies and declare their choices simultaneously.
For each of these games, state whether or not it is a two-person, simultaneous play game.
A: Chess
B: Roulette
D: Football
E: Snap
If you are not familiar with any of these games you could look them up. Some of these games have
variations that are used in other cultures.
A: Two-person but not The players take turns so chess is not a simultaneous play game.
simultaneous play.
B: Simultaneous play but not Roulette usually involves several people, each playing against the
two-person. ‘house’, not against each other.
C: Two-person, simultaneous The classic example of the kind of game that is analysed in game
play. theory.
D: Two-person but not
Football involves two teams but they do not declare choices.
simultaneous play.
E: Simultaneous play but not Snap usually involves more than two players.
usually two-person.
• With a two-person simultaneous play game, a table can be used to record the amount that
each player wins for each combination of strategies. This is called a pay-off matrix. The two
players do not need to have the same number of strategies to choose from.
• A game is usually be played repeatedly and each player aims to maximise the total amount
(points or score) that they win.
Two people play rock, paper, scissors. Each chooses one of rock, paper or scissors and they show
their choices at the same time. Rock wins over scissors, scissors wins over paper and paper wins over
rock. The winner gets points and the loser gets points. If both show the same choice, then they
get point each.
Second player
The rows represent the possible strategies (choices)
for one player and the columns represent the
rock paper scissors
possible strategies (choices) for the other player.
The entries in the cells are of the form , where
rock is the number of points won by the player on rows
First and is the number of points won by the player on
paper columns, when that combination of strategies is
Player played.
scissors
Many of the games that are considered can be formulated as zero-sum games.
• A zero-sum game is one in which, for every combination of strategies, the amount that one
player wins is equal to the amount that the other player loses.
• A game can be converted to a zero-sum game if the total amount won by the two players is the
same for every combination of strategies.
• The pay-off matrix for a zero-sum game is usually written showing just the amounts won by the
player on rows. The player on columns wins the negatives of the values in the table.
rock
First
paper
Player
scissors
b
Second player
In the game of rock, paper, scissors, there is no obvious winning strategy and the play comes down to
trying to double guess your opponent. In other games, some choices will be better than others.
Player
Player
No strategy is always best for either player. Remember that player wins the negative of
the values in the table.
You might have an opinion about which strategy For example, player could argue that gives
you would choose if you were player or player the maximum possible score of (and also the
, but what you choose depends on whether you maximum row total), but if often plays this
would be a poor choice for .
are an optimist or a pessimist.
A pessimist would usually consider the worst For example, player could argue that gives
possible outcome and then select their strategy a worst possible score of , while with the
accordingly. score could be .
• The play-safe strategy for either player is the strategy for which the worst possible score is
best (the least worst strategy). There could be more than one play-safe strategy for either
player.
• In a zero-sum game:
• for the player on rows, the play-safe strategy is the row for which the row minimum is largest
• for the player on columns, the play-safe strategy is the column for which the column
maximum is smallest.
Player
Player
b What would happen if player knew that player would play safe?
c What would happen if player knew that player would play safe?
a
Row min. The row minimum is greatest in
rows and . If plays or ,
the worst possible outcome (for
) is to lose points.
The column maximum is least in
column . If plays , the worst
possible outcome (for ) is to
lose points.
Col. max. Remember that player wins
the negative of the values in the
table.
b If knew that would play safe, then would play . would play .
would win points, which is
better than losing (by playing
) or losing (by playing ).
c If knew that would play safe, then would have to guess would play either or .
whether was going to play or . If plays , then
Remember that player wins
would be best playing (but then would change to ). If the negative of the values in the
plays , then would be best playing . table.
• Sometimes the pay-offs mean that if either player chooses to use their play-safe strategy, then
the best option for the other player is also to use their play-safe strategy. Such a game is called
a stable game.
• A zero-sum game is stable if the row maximin value is equal to the column minimax value.
• If both players play safe, then neither of them will have any incentive to change.
Common error
For a game that is not zero-sum, the play-safe strategy for the player on columns corresponds to
the column maximin of the scores for the player on columns. With a zero-sum game, the scores
for the player on columns are the negatives of the entries in the table so the column maximin of
the table showing the scores for the player on columns is the same as the negative of the column
minimax of the table showing the scores for the player on rows. For a zero-sum game, the row
maximin and column minimax should be used; the game is stable if the row maximin equals the
column minimax.
• When a game is stable, the value of the row maximin equals the value of the column minimax.
This is called the value of the game for the player on rows. The value for the player on
columns is the negative of the value for the player on rows.
• The value of a stable game is the amount the player can expect to win per game, on
average, even if the other player plays in the best way possible.
Common error
The play-safe strategies are the labels of the chosen rows and columns and not the values of the
row minima or column maxima.
d
Row min.
Minimum value in row is , in
row is and in row is .
Row maximin .
, and are all play-safe
strategies for player on rows.
Maximum value in column is ,
in column is and in column
Col. max. is . Column minimax .
, and are all play-safe
Row maximin , column minimax strategies for player on columns.
Game is unstable.
EXERCISE 6A
Tim
Sue
How many points does Tim win when Sue plays strategy and Tim plays strategy ?
Choose from these options.
Bel
Andy
3 For the zero-sum game in question 2, if both players use their play-safe strategy how many points
does Bel win?
4 The matrix shows the pay-offs for a game. The entries are of the form , where is the score for
the player on rows and is the score for the player on columns.
Player
Player
6 Alice and Bob play a card game. Each has three cards. Alice’s cards are labelled , and . Bob’s cards
are labelled , and .
Alice and Bob each select a card and reveal their choices simultaneously.
The player whose card has the larger value scores the value on their card, the other player scores the
difference between the values on the two cards.
a Write the pay-off matrix to show the scores for Alice and Bob for each combination of strategies.
Put Alice’s options on rows and Bob’s on columns.
b Show that the sum of the play-offs is not the same for all combinations of strategies.
7 Find the play-safe strategy for each player for this game.
Sandi
Rupi
Fionn
Gina
Player
Player
a Player never wins points by playing . Explain why this could still be a winning strategy.
b Identify a strategy that player should never choose. Explain your reasoning.
c Is there a strategy that player should never choose? Explain your reasoning.
• If every entry in a row is greater than the corresponding entry in another row, the first of these
rows is said to dominate (or strictly dominate) the second of these rows. The player on rows
would never choose a row that is dominated by another.
• If every entry in a row is greater than or equal to the corresponding entry in another row, and
the two rows are not the same, the first of these rows is said to weakly dominate the second
of these rows. There is no advantage for the player on rows in choosing a row that is weakly
dominated by another.
• Similarly, one column dominates another if the pay-off for the player on columns is better in
every row (remembering that in a zero-sum game the player on columns wins the negative of
the value in the table), or weakly dominates if they are better or equal (and not all equal).
Common error
A row is only dominated by another if the pay-off in each column is less than or equal to the
corresponding value in the dominating row. A row is not dominated if the comparison in one
column is with one row and in another column is with a different row.
Use dominance to reduce the pay-off matrix from Worked example 6.7.
• For an unstable game, the best tactic, over a long run of games, is to use a mixed strategy.
• A mixed strategy means that the players use random numbers to choose between the
strategies, playing them with probabilities that are calculated to maximise the minimum
expected pay-off.
Cheryl
Darren
Darren decides to flip a fair coin to choose whether to play strategy or strategy .
a How many points can Darren expect to win when Cheryl plays:
i strategy
ii strategy ?
b Which strategy should Cheryl choose?
a i Equally likely to lose or gain .
ii Equally likely to gain or lose .
b Cheryl expects to lose points if she chooses and lose point if
she chooses .
WORKED EXAMPLE 6.10
For the game in Worked example 6.9, suppose that, instead of flipping a coin, Darren uses random
numbers to choose whether to play strategy or strategy and chooses with probability (where
) and with probability .
a How many points can Darren expect to win when Cheryl plays:
i strategy
ii strategy ?
b For what values of does Darren expect to win more points when Cheryl plays strategy rather than
strategy ?
c What value of should Darren use and how many points does Darren expect to win in this case?
• To find a mixed strategy for the player on rows choosing between two strategies:
• let the probability of playing the strategies be and
• calculate the expected pay-off, in terms of , when the other player uses each of their options
• sketch a graph showing the expected pay-off against for
• the feasible region is the area below all the expected pay-off lines for
• find the maximum feasible value of the minimum expected pay-off by sliding a horizontal
profit line up across the feasible region until it reaches the highest point.
Tip
Imagine scanning across the graph from to , and for each value of using the minimum
expected pay-off. This lower boundary on the graph gives the row minimum for each value of ,
and the highest point on the lower boundary corresponds to the row maximin. The value of
where the lower boundary is highest is the optimal choice for the mixed strategy. This value could
occur at one of the extremes, or , but more often it will be at a value between these
extremes and you can use simultaneous equations to calculate the optimum value of .
Tip
The highest point on the boundary might be at one end ( or ). It is not necessarily at the
point where the lines cross.
Choose randomly between the rows so There is no need to check that the game is unstable.
that row is played with probability and
row with probability . Row min.
Expected pay-off for rows when columns
plays is .
Expected pay-off for rows when columns
plays is .
Col. max.
Find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows for this zero-sum game.
when .
Choose row with probability
and row with probability .
Tip
If a game is stable, the optimal value of is (if the first row is the play-safe) or (if the second
row is the play-safe). The mixed strategy is to always use the play-safe.
Tip
If a column is dominated by another, then, on the graph, the line for the dominated column is
entirely above the line for the other column. The line for the dominated column does not form part
of the lower boundary.
However, a line can be entirely above the lower boundary without the corresponding column
necessarily being dominated by another.
To find an optimal mixed strategy for the player on columns, you could reformulate the problem with that
player on rows, but if you already know the optimal expected value of the game for the player on rows, then
you can use another method.
• For a zero-sum game, the optimal expected value of the game for the player on columns is the
negative of the optimal expected value of the game for the player on rows.
with probability .
Cheryl
Darren
Use this information to find the optimal mixed strategy for Cheryl.
Find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on columns for the zero-sum game from Worked
example 6.12.
When the player on columns plays with their The optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows is
optimal mixed strategy, the expected value to choose with probability and win an
will be per game. expected value of per game.
You can solve higher-order games, where both players have more than two strategies to choose
between, using linear programming.
and
.
Tip
You could then use the simplex algorithm to find the values of
The reason for adding a constant is to ensure that the minimum expected pay-off, , is
non-negative.
The reason for maximising , rather than maximising , is that appears as a
variable in the constraints.
The reason for expected pay-off is so that the maximum is the value on the upper
boundary for each set of probabilities.
The reason for writing the total probability as (instead of ) is so that there is a row
in the simplex tableau with right-hand side ( ) non-zero. Without this the value of the
objective would never increase. At the optimum, there will be no slack in this constraint
because, otherwise, can still be increased.
In practice, the solution would usually be found by using a simplex package on a computer.
Rewind
Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows for
this zero-sum game.
Maximise
subject to:
Choose randomly between the rows so that row is played
with probability , row with probability and row with
probability .
Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on columns
for the zero-sum game in Worked example 6.14.
The player on columns wins the negative of the values
in the pay-off matrix.
Maximise
subject to:
Choose randomly between the columns so that
column is played with probability , column with
probability , column with probability and
column with probability .
Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows for
this zero-sum game.
Maximise
subject to:
expected value of .
EXERCISE 6B
2 Sunny and Tom play a zero-sum game. The expected pay-offs for Sunny when Tom plays each of his
strategies are and .
Find the optimal value of .
Player
Player
Player chooses randomly between the rows so that row is played with probability and row with
probability .
Find and simplify an expression for the expected pay-off for player when player chooses strategy
.
5 Show that the zero-sum game shown can be reduced using dominance.
Player
Player
Player chooses randomly between the columns so that column is played with probability and
column with probability .
Find and simplify an expression for the expected pay-off for player when player chooses each of
strategies and .
Fionn
Gina
Explaining your reasoning carefully, deduce whether column is dominant over any other column.
8 Ben and Cindy repeatedly play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix for the game is shown.
Cindy
Ben
Ben and Cindy both play using their optimal mixed strategy.
a Find the optimal mixed strategy for Ben.
b How much should Ben expect to win per game, in the long run?
c How much should Cindy expect to win per game, in the long run?
9 a Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows for this
zero-sum game.
10 a Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on columns for
this zero-sum game.
11 Rosie and Jim play a game using cards numbered . They are each dealt cards from
which they choose a card to play.
If either player plays the card with value they win points, otherwise the player whose card has
the smaller value wins points, where is the larger value minus the smaller value. The game is
zero-sum.
Suppose that Rosie has been dealt the cards (so Jim has ).
a Show that the game is not stable.
b Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for Rosie.
The final tableau is
where (play card )
c What is the optimal mixed strategy for Rosie?
• A pay-off matrix can be used to show the amount that each player wins for each combination
of strategies in a two-person simultaneous play game. The two players need not have the
same number of strategies to choose from.
• A game is usually played repeatedly and each player aims to maximise the total amount
(points or score) that they win.
• A zero-sum game is one in which, for every combination of strategies, the amount that one
player wins is equal to the amount that the other player loses. A game can be converted to a
zero-sum game if the total amount won by the two players is the same for every combination of
strategies.
• The pay-off matrix for a zero-sum game is usually written showing just the amounts won by
the player on rows. The player on columns wins the negatives of the values in the table.
• The play-safe strategy for either player is the strategy for which the worst possible score is best
(the least worst strategy). There might be more than one play-safe strategy for either player.
• In a zero-sum game, the play-safe strategy for the player on rows is the row for which the row
minimum is largest and the play-safe strategy for the player on columns is the column for
which the column maximum is smallest.
• A stable game is one in which the best strategy for each player is to use their play-safe
strategy. If both players play safe, then neither of them will have any incentive to change.
• A zero-sum game is stable if the row maximin value equals the column minimax value. This is
called the value of the game for the player on rows. The value for the player on columns is
the negative of the value for the player on rows.
• The value of a stable game is the amount the player can expect to win per game, on
average, even if the other player plays in the best way possible.
• A row dominates another if the pay-off for the player on rows is better in every column. The
player on rows would never choose a row that is dominated by another and the pay-off matrix
can be reduced.
• A column dominates another if the pay-off for the player on columns is better in every row
(remembering that in a zero-sum game the player on columns wins the negative of the value in
the table). The player on columns would never choose a column that is dominated by another
and the pay-off matrix can be reduced.
• For an unstable game, the best tactic, over a long run of games, is to use a mixed strategy. This
means using random numbers to choose between the strategies, playing them with
probabilities that are calculated to maximise the minimum expected pay-off.
• To find a mixed strategy for the player on rows who can choose between two strategies:
• let the probability of playing the strategies be and
• calculate the expected pay-off, in terms of , when the other player uses each of their options
• sketch a graph showing the expected pay-off against for
• the feasible region is the area below all the expected pay-off lines for
• find the maximum feasible value of the minimum expected pay-off by sliding a horizontal
profit line up across the feasible region until it reaches the highest point.
• For a zero-sum game, the optimal expected value of the game for the player on columns is the
negative of the optimal expected value of the game for the player on rows.
• To formulate the problem of finding a mixed strategy as a linear programming problem:
• add a constant throughout the pay-off matrix to make all the pay-offs non-negative
• let the probability of playing the options be
• calculate the expected pay-off, in terms of when the other player uses each of
their options
• set up a linear programming problem:
maximise (or constant that was previously added)
subject to: expression for expected pay-off for each option and
Mixed practice 6
1 The pay-off matrix for a zero-sum game is shown.
Which is the play-safe strategy for the player on rows? Choose from these options.
D No play-safe strategy.
The player on rows plays with probability and with probability . What is their
expected pay-off when the player on columns plays ? Choose from these options.
Mina
Pav
4 Rose and Jim repeatedly play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix for the game is shown.
Jim
Rose
Player
Player
Player chooses randomly between the columns so that column is played with probability
and column with probability .
a Find and simplify an expression for the expected pay-off for player when player
chooses each of strategies and .
Jim
Rose
7 Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows for
this zero-sum game.
8 a Two people, Adam and Bill, play a zero-sum game. The game is represented by the
following pay-off matrix for Adam.
Bill
Strategy
Adam
b Roza plays a different zero-sum game against a computer. The game is represented by the
following pay-off matrix for Roza.
Computer
Strategy
Roza
i State which strategy the computer should never play, giving a reason for your answer.
ii Roza chooses strategy with probability . Find expressions for the expected gain for
Roza when the computer chooses each of its two remaining strategies.
iii Hence find the value of for which Roza will maximise her expected gain.
iv Find the value of the game for Roza.
[© AQA 2012]
9 Two people, Roz and Colum, play a zero-sum game. The game is represented by the following
pay-off matrix for Roz.
Colum
Strategy
Roz
b Determine the play-safe strategy for Colum, giving a reason for your answer.
c i Show that the matrix can be reduced to a by matrix, giving the reason for deleting
one of the rows.
ii Hence find the optimal mixed strategy for Roz.
[© AQA 2012]
10 Rob and Chas play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix for the game is shown.
Chas
Rob
a Formulate the problem of finding the value of the game as a linear programming problem.
11 Dan and Jenny play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix for the game is shown.
Jenny
Dan
a Write down, in terms of , and , the expected pay-off for Dan when Jenny plays each of
her strategies.
b Use the fact that to eliminate from each of the expressions from part a.
12 Kaz and Trev play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix for the game is shown.
Trev
Kaz
Kaz chooses randomly between her strategies, choosing strategy with probability , strategy
with probability , strategy with probability and strategy with probability .
a Formulate the problem of finding the value of the game as a linear programming problem.
The problem of finding an optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows is set up as an initial
simplex tableau.
How many rows and how many columns does the simplex tableau have?
Strategy
a i Find the row maximin and column minimax, in terms of where necessary.
ii Prove that the game is never stable.
iii Explain why can never be a play-safe strategy.
b i Find the range of values of for which row is dominated by another row.
ii Find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows when the condition in part b i
holds.
iii Find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on columns in this case.
7 Binary operations
• understand and use binary operations, including examples using modular arithmetic and matrix
multiplication
• use and prove the commutativity of a binary operation
• use and prove the associativity of a binary operation
• construct a Cayley table for a given set under a given binary operation
• prove the existence of an identity element for a given set under a given binary operation
• find the inverse of an element belonging to a given set under a given binary operation.
Further Mathematics Student Book You should know how to carry out 2 Calculate
1, Chapter 7 matrix addition and matrix a
multiplication.
b
Section 1: Properties of binary operations
Key point 7.1
• A binary operation is any mathematical procedure that has two inputs and one output.
For a binary operation •:
In ordinary arithmetic, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (by a number that is not zero) are
all examples of binary operations.
a
b
c
d
e
f
All except d and f are binary operations. d has only one input value.
f has three input values.
Some binary operations have standard symbols (such as addition: ). In other cases, you can use or
or some other such symbol to denote the operation.
Common error
The symbols used for binary operations could have different meanings in different questions, but
will have a fixed meaning within a question.
• The inputs for a binary operation will usually both come from the same set. When the output is
also from this set (for any valid inputs), the binary operation is said to be closed on this set.
• It is not necessary to be able to achieve every element of the set as an output, but every
output needs to belong to the set.
Which of the binary operations addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are closed on the set
of positive integers?
Although binary operations are often applied to numerical sets, they can also be applied to other types of
set.
A set consists of polygons with edge length unit. All such polygons with edges are denoted by
. An operation combines two of the polygons by joining them along an edge (but not more
than one edge) to form another polygon.
a What is ?
b What is ?
c Is a closed binary operation?
a Not closed, the entry in the cell in the second row, second
column becomes , so the sum does not have the required
form.
• For an integer , the residue modulo N (where is an integer ) is the remainder when
is written as an integer multiple of plus the remainder , where
• For example,
Even numbers have residue modulo and odd numbers have residue
• modulo .
• Modular arithmetic (sometimes called clock arithmetic) is arithmetic carried out on the set
of residues modulo , for some given positive integer .
Common error
Addition modulo is the same as addition followed by reducing modulo . For example,
because . The multiples of modulo are ,….
Tip
You can use the commutativity of addition and multiplication of real numbers without proof.
Prove that multiplication of matrices of the form , for real numbers , is commutative.
Hence,
Tip
You can use the associativity of addition and multiplication of real numbers without proof.
You can use the associativity of matrix multiplication without proof.
EXERCISE 7A
EXERCISE 7A
1 A binary operation is defined on the set as follows.
• When both input letters are the same, the output is the same as the input letter.
When the input letters are different, the output is the third letter.
•
• When a binary operation is closed on a (small) finite set, the operation can be listed using
a Cayley table. The rows represent the first input, , the columns represent the second
input, , and the entries in the table show .
Common error
The entry in row and column shows and the entry in row column shows .
This only matters when the operation is non-commutative.
Fast forward
You will use Cayley tables again in Chapter 8 when you look at groups.
b Explain how the Cayley table shows that multiplication modulo is commutative.
a
The residues modulo are
and .
since .
since .
since .
since
.
since
• An identity element for a binary operation is an element that leaves the other input
unchanged.
• If is an identity element, then for all .
• The identity for addition of real numbers is ; the identity for multiplication of real
numbers is .
• The inverse of an element belonging to a given set under a given binary operation is
the element that gives the identity as the output.
• If is an identity element and , then is the inverse of .
Under addition of real numbers, the inverse of is because .
Fast forward
You will use identity elements and inverses again in Chapter 8 when you look at groups.
Use the Cayley table from Worked example 7.8 to find the inverse of each element.
5 a Construct a Cayley table for the operation defined on the set using these rules:
• When both input letters are the same, the output is the same as the input letter.
When the input letters are different, the output is the third letter.
•
b Explain how you can tell from the Cayley table that the operation is commutative.
c Explain how you can tell from the Cayley table that the operation has no identity element.
b Which element is the identity and what is the inverse of each element?
c Is matrix multiplication commutative on the set?
The matrix .
d Work out .
e If is included in the Cayley table, how many other matrices are needed so that the table
is closed?
b Give an example of a binary operation that has a right identity but no left identity (i.e. there
exists an element such that for all but there is no element such that
for all ).
c Prove that if an element exists that is both a right identity and a left identity, then it is the
only identity (i.e. if there exists an element such that for all then there is
no element for which for all or for all ).
• A binary operation is any mathematical procedure that has two inputs and one output.
• The inputs for a binary operation will usually both come from some set. When the output
is also from this set (for any valid inputs), the binary operation is said to be closed on
this set.
• For an integer , the residue modulo (where is an integer ) is the remainder
when is written as an integer multiple of plus the remainder , where
.
• Modular arithmetic (sometimes called clock arithmetic) is arithmetic carried out on the
set of residues modulo for some given positive integer .
• A binary operation o is commutative if for all .
• A binary operation o is associative if for all .
• When a binary operation is closed on a (small) finite set, the operation can be listed by
using a Cayley table.
• An identity element for a binary operation is an element that leaves the other input
unchanged. If is an identity element, then for all .
• The inverse of an element belonging to a given set under a given binary operation is the
element that gives the identity as the output. If is the identity and ,
then is the inverse of . If an element is its own inverse it is called self-inverse.
Mixed practice 7
1 The binary operation is defined by
b Show that .
b Show that .
c Show that .
5 Explain why, for any binary operation, the identity is always self-inverse.
• is the identity
•
• is not commutative
each row contains the numbers
• and .
10 Describe what happens in question 9 if the final bullet point is replaced by:
b Which element is
the inverse of ?
for all
Is commutative?
Section 1: The group axioms
Key point 8.1
• The four properties: closure, existence of an identity, existence of inverses and associativity are
called the group axioms.
• The group formed using the set and the binary operation is written .
Rewind
You worked with binary operations, identity elements and inverses in Chapter 7.
is the identity.
• A group for which the operation is also commutative is called an abelian group.
• The order of a group is the number of elements in the set .
• The period of an element is the smallest number of repeated applications of the element to
get the identity. The identity always has period .
Period of .
Period of .
Period of .
Tip
When the binary operation is multiplication, , and so on, the identity can
be written as . The period of element is the smallest positive integer for which .
Similarly, when the binary operation is addition, , and so on, the identity
can be written as . The period of element is the smallest positive integer for which .
Common error
A useful consequence of the group axioms is that each element appears once in every row and
once in every column. This can be useful for showing up errors in calculating the Cayley table for
a group.
is a subset of .
Inverse of and inverse of . The identity, , appears in each row and each
column of the reduced Cayley table.
Associativity does not need to be checked
because is associative under .
• A trivial subgroup is a subgroup consisting of an operation and the set containing just the
identity.
• A non-trivial subgroup is a subgroup that is not trivial.
• A proper non-trivial subgroup is a subgroup that is not the whole group and does not consist
of the operation and the set containing just the identity.
The symmetries of a regular polygon are the orientations of the polygon formed by rotating or
reflecting the polygon onto itself. The set of all such symmetries, together with the operation
‘followed by’ form a group. This group is a symmetry group of a regular polygon.
For a regular -sided polygon, the symmetry group will have rotations and reflections. This
symmetry group has order .
Original Rotation
orientation through
Rotation Rotation
through through
Reflection in Reflection in
axis axis
Reflection in Reflection in
axis axis
Find the subgroups of order and order of the symmetry group of a square from Worked example
8.5.
Another four subgroups of order , each consisting of the identity and a reflection.
• A cyclic group of order consists of the identity and elements, where at least one of
these has period and the others have period either or a factor of .
• The subgroup of the symmetry group of a regular -sided polygon consisting of all the
rotations but no reflections is the cyclic group of order .
• The group formed by addition modulo on the set is also the cyclic group of
order .
• If a non-trivial group has no proper non-trivial subgroup, then it is a cyclic group of prime order.
This can be extracted from the Cayley table in Worked example 8.5.
EXERCISE 8A
EXERCISE 8A
1 What is the order of the symmetry group of a regular hexagon? Choose from these options.
2 Write out the Cayley table for addition modulo on the set .
5 For the symmetry group of a square in Worked example 8.5, find a proper subgroup that includes both
and .
6 How many proper subgroups does the symmetry group of a square in Worked example 8.5 have?
7 The set consists of matrices of the form where are non-zero real numbers. Show
9 a Show that any cyclic group of order has no proper non-trivial subgroup.
b Find a proper non-trivial subgroup of the cyclic group .
Section 2: Generators of a group
Key point 8.7
• Lagrange’s theorem says that for any finite group , the order of every subgroup of
divides the order of .
Tip
The proof of Lagrange’s theorem uses the concept of cosets of in , but this is beyond the
scope of this chapter.
Common error
Note that Lagrange’s theorem does not say that a group of order will have subgroups with
orders that are the factors of , only that it cannot have subgroups with orders that are not
factors of . For example, a group of order might or might not have subgroups of orders
and , but cannot have a subgroup of order .
Using Lagrange’s theorem, what can you deduce about the orders of the proper non-trivial subgroups
of:
a The order of a subgroup divides the order of the group. The In this case, there are subgroups
group in Worked example 8.5 has order , so there could be of order and of order , which
you found in question 6 in
proper non-trivial subgroups of order or but there cannot
Exercise 8A.
be proper non-trivial subgroups of order or .
Lagrange’s theorem does not say
that there are subgroups of order
and , only that there cannot be
subgroups of any other order.
b The order of the group is , which is prime, so Lagrange’s
theorem says that there are no proper non-trivial subgroups.
Show that for a cyclic group of prime order, each element generates the group, apart from the
identity.
Show that no element of the symmetry group of a square, from Worked example 8.5, generates the
entire group.
• Two groups of finite order are isomorphic if they have the same structure. There is a
correspondence between the elements of one group and the elements of the other.
• You can write ‘ is isomorphic to ’ as ‘ ’.
• If and are finite and then and have the same number of elements (have the
same order).
• Every group of order is isomorphic to .
• Every group of order , where is prime, is isomorphic to the cyclic group of order .
• If a generator of each group can be found, then the correspondence can be between
successive powers of the generators.
Tip
Every group of order is either isomorphic to the cyclic group of order or to the subgroup
of the symmetry group of a square first used in Worked example 8.5, then used
in Worked example 8.10.
a These groups have different orders so they cannot be isomorphic. has order and
has order 4.
b Both groups have order , but in only and are
self-inverse, whereas in all four elements are self-
inverse.
and
and
EXERCISE 8B
EXERCISE 8B
1 A group has order . Which could not be the order of a subgroup? Choose from these options.
3 Use Lagrange’s theorem to show that the group generated in question 2 is isomorphic to the cyclic
group of order .
6 Find all the proper non-trivial subgroups of the cyclic group of order .
7 a Construct the Cayley table generated by the element under the operation .
b Verify that is a group.
8 a Construct the Cayley table generated by the element under the operation , where
.
b Verify that the operation does not form a group.
2 A group has order . What could be the order of a subgroup? Choose from these options.
3 Construct the Cayley table generated by the element under the operation , where
.
4 A group has order , but is not isomorphic to the cyclic group of order .
a How many elements are there in the symmetry group of the star?
b Describe the groups formed as generators of each of the elements of the symmetry group.
6 A group has subgroups of order and .
b Explain why the group must have at least one subgroup of order .
7 A binary operation is defined on by .
is a subgroup of , where .
The group is isomorphic to the symmetry group of an equilateral triangle, the identity is and
is a subgroup.
1 In a project an activity has duration minutes and has latest finish time minutes. What is
the latest time that the activity can start? Choose from these options.
A minutes
B minutes
C minutes
D minutes
4 The table lists the activities involved in a project, their durations, in days, and their immediate
predecessors.
Duration Immediate
Activity
(days) predecessors
-
,
The duration of activity is increased so that the minimum time in which the project can be
completed increases by days.
d What is the new duration of activity ?
6 The diagram shows an activity network for a project. The duration required for each activity is
given in hours. The project is to be completed in the minimum time.
a Find the earliest start time and latest finish time for each activity.
d Given that activities and will both overrun by hours, find the new minimum
completion time for the project.
[© AQA 2013]
8 The table shows the activities in a project, their durations (in hours) and their immediate
predecessors.
Duration Immediate
Activity
(hours) predecessors
a Calculate the earliest start time and the latest finish time for each activity.
b Calculate the float for activity .
c Construct a Gantt chart showing each activity starting at its latest start time.
Activities and need one worker, activity needs no workers, and activities and need
two workers.
d Draw a resource histogram to illustrate the number of workers needed each hour to
complete the project with each activity starting at its earliest start time.
There are two workers available to complete the project.
e What is the shortest time in which two workers can complete the project?
9 Stan and Christine play a zero-sum game.
Christine
Strategy
Stan
[© AQA 2015]
10 The pay-off matrix for the player on rows in a zero-sum game is shown.
Determine whether the game is ever stable.
11 a Write out the Cayley table for matrix multiplication on the set
, where , , and .
12 This Cayley table shows the effect of a binary operation on the set .
16 a Set up the initial simplex tableau to find the optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows
for this zero-sum game.
The optimal mixed strategy for the player on rows involves choosing randomly between the
rows so that has probability and has probability .
[1 mark]
2 The set forms a group under the operation of multiplication modulo . Which is a generator
of the group? Choose from these options.
D
[1 mark]
c By finding a suitable cut, show that the flow of litres per second is the maximum flow from to .
[2 marks]
6 The diagram shows a simplified map of some towns and the motorway routes between them.
The motorway distances (km) between the towns are shown in the table.
[3 marks]
7 A linear programming problem is:
maximise
subject to
Formulate the problem as a simplex tableau and carry out one iteration of the simplex algorithm.
[6 marks]
8 a Construct the group .
[2 marks]
9 The table lists the activities involved in a project, their durations (in hours) and their immediate
predecessors.
[4 marks]
10 Alex and Bel play a zero-sum game. The pay-off matrix is shown.
Bel
Alex
c If it is known that Bel will use her play-safe strategy, which strategy should Alex use?
[1 mark]
d Deduce whether the game is stable or unstable.
[1 mark]
e Describe how Alex should choose which strategy to use to maximise his expected pay-off over a
number of games.
[3 marks]
Set notation
is an element of
is not an element of
is a subset of
is a proper subset of
union
intersection
the interval
the interval
4 ;
5 a
b For example:
c For example:
6 The sum of the degrees is twice the number of edges, so must be an even number.
It is impossible to have an odd number of vertices with odd degree.
7 a The sum of the vertex degrees must be even, so there must be two odd degrees. is odd but
and are all even. So must be odd as well.
b . The sum of the vertex degrees must be .
so .
c . The maximum value of is , when this vertex is connected to each of the others. This gives
degree sum . This is twice the number of edges, so edges.
8 For a simple graph with four vertices, the maximum vertex degree is .
Here there is a vertex of degree , so this vertex is connected to another by multiple edges or is
connected to itself by a loop.
9 a For example:
b For example:
10 a 4
b The edges connect to but there is no edge between and or between any of
and .
c is replaced by and . The edges connect to , with no edges between
any of and or between any of and .
11 a
b The edges between the vertices in each of the two sets that form the bipartite graph.
If there were a loop at a vertex, , say, then this would leave only four edges to connect the other five
vertices to each other and to , but this would need another five edges.
If there were a multiple edge between two vertices, and , say, then this would only leave another
three edges to connect the other four vertices to each other and to or , but this would need another
four edges.
In either case, there are not enough edges to make a connected graph.
13 a
b
c To solve the problem, a path is needed from to that does not involve any wasted journeys.
The farmer should take the goat across and come back with nothing, then take the wolf across and
bring the goat back, then take the cabbages across and come back with nothing, and finally take the
goat across again (or the same but with the wolf and the cabbages swapped).
Exercise 1B
1 and .
2 and .
3 A tree has at least two vertices of degree . An Eulerian graph has no odd vertex degrees.
4 Semi-Eulerian.
The vertex degrees are . It has exactly two odd degree vertices.
5 a
b
c
d
6 Each vertex degree is either or . There are five such degrees and they sum to .
10 a Yes, provided the graph has at least three vertices. The complete graph ( ) can be
represented as a regular polygon with vertices with lines (diagonals) joining every pair of vertices.
The cycle around the outside of the polygon is a Hamiltonian cycle for .
b No, unless the two sets have the same number of vertices. Any path will alternate between the two
sets, so a Hamiltonian cycle is only possible for when .
11 a
b
c
12 a
b A simple graph with vertices cannot have a vertex with degree . The maximum vertex degree in a
simple graph is , where is the number of vertices.
c
Exercise 1C
1 and are planar. is non-planar. For example,
2 and .
3 so
4 For example:
5 Each graph has four vertices and seven edges.
However, in the first graph the two vertices of degree are directly connected whereas in the second
graph they are not.
6
b The graphs have different numbers of vertices with degree 1 (three, two and four vertices with
degree 1).
9
or
10 a
b A possible Hamiltonian cycle is so the graph is Hamiltonian.
c and are each directly connected to and , so is a subset of the graph. This means
that the graph is non-planar.
11 a The graph has only 9 edges so is not a subgraph, and it has only 5 vertices so is not a
subgraph. This means that the graph is planar.
b so .
c ; of these include and one of , so triples.
Or , .
d For example: if the graph is drawn as shown then the triple forms a triangle but does not
correspond to a region.
Mixed practice 1
1
2
3 a
b
4 has six edges, so every simple-connected graph that connects four vertices using five edges is the
same as the graph with one edge removed. All such graphs are isomorphic.
5 The vertex with degree can only connect to one of the other three vertices. This vertex could have
degree 3 but the other two vertices must have degree at most for a simple graph.
6 a
b It is non-planar (using Kuratowski’s theorem).
7 a Graphs and are isomorphic.
b Use the vertex degrees to suggest a possible correspondence between the vertices of graph and
those of graph :
This gives:
In graph has degree . No other vertex in any of the graphs has degree .
In graph and each have degree . Each of the other graphs has only two vertices of
degree .
8 a
b
c
9 a
d
11 a For example:
b Remove vertex by combining edges and as .
Then merge and the edge into a single vertex. Each of is directly connected to
each of .
So the graph contains as a subgraph. By Kuratowski’s theorem, the graph is non-planar.
12 a .
b For example:
c For example:
d The graph is simple so each vertex of degree is connected to each of the other five vertices. The
remaining four vertices must each be connected to the two vertices of degree Therefore, no vertex
has degree .
2 Networks
Before you start
1 a For example:
b For example:
Exercise 2A
1
2
3
4
5
6 The arc with the greatest weight is the only arc leading to the node at one of its ends.
7 a
b because, without this, getting from to using shelters means travelling .
8 For example, , say.
is a minimum spanning tree that does not use .
9 a minutes
b minutes
10 In a spanning tree, it must be possible to get from any node to any other node. If there is a directed arc,
then there must be a way to get from the end of the arc to the start, and that means that there is a set
of arcs that form a cycle.
Exercise 2B
1 is semi-Eulerian, is Eulerian, is neither and is Eulerian.
2 and .
3
4 (each arc appears twice in the table)
5 a
c For example, the distance from the groundsman’s feet to the point where the paint leaves the
machine.
6 a
b The two least weight arcs are and but these are not the least weight paths joining
with two paths.
c
d If is not used, then the least weight path from has weight at least and the other two paths
connecting odd nodes must have total weight greater than , so the total weight is more than .
e Repeat
9 a
b
b
5 a
b
6 a There is no cycle, because to travel in and out of the arc must be travelled twice, so is
repeated.
b , for example:
c , for example:
d for example:
7 a MST for reduced network:
Lower bound so £
b so £
c For example, there might be a security issue that means that a certain path should be included.
8 It is a string (a tree with just two nodes of degree ). The two least weight arcs from the node that was
removed connect it to the ends of the string.
9 a There are no cycles in a tree so to form a closed route some arcs (and hence some nodes) will need
to be repeated.
b Every arc will need to be travelled twice, the total weight will be twice the weight of the tree.
Mixed practice 2
1
2
3 a
b
4 a
b
5 a
b
6 is odd but cannot travel through again, so must repeat either or . However, if is used,
then they cannot start at without travelling through either or at least three times. So repeat
and make even by repeating . Similarly, repeat and .
7 a One of these two networks.
Total weight
b Not unique; there are two spanning trees with total weight .
8 a minutes
b This is a tour, but it might be possible to improve it.
c
e Minimum tour
9 a i
ii
iii £
b Replace with ; new cost £ .
10
11 a
b
12 a £
b £
c £
d £
e £ £
3 Network flows
Before you start
1 a
b
Exercise 3A
1 and .
2
3
4
5 a
Flow
b The cut through and has value
So maximum flow.
8 a
b
c
9 a Maximum flow increases to .
b No change.
c Maximum flow reduces to .
10 a
b
c
Maximum flow in
Maximum flow out
5 a 24
b 33
6
7 a
b Arc Potential increase Potential decrease
8 a
b The maximum that can flow into is , along , so the flow through can never be as big as .
d If , maximum flow .
And if .
Maximum flow .
e For example, cut through arcs has value .
Maximum flow minimum cut, so this must be the minimum cut and the maximum flow.
Mixed practice 3
1
2 and .
3 a
b
4 ;
5 a Cut through and .
c For example,
can be at most .
ii
c flow flow flow flow ; maximum flow .
d flow flow flow flow flow .
8 a
b For example,
flow
flow
flow
flow
flow
flow
flow
c i
b i
ii
c Arc
Flow
Arc
Flow
d
e Cut through
10 a
b i Initial state
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
For example:
Final state
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
Arc
Potential
ii Maximum flow
For example:
Arc
Flow
Arc
Flow
Arc
Flow
c Cut through .
Cut through
11 a
b and all have arcs that flow in and arcs that flow out, so must be the source, and
hence the flow must be from to .
c Arc
Flow
d Arc
Flow
4 Linear programming
Before you start
1
2
Exercise 4A
1 and .
2 and .
3
These are really average numbers because on any individual day the number could be a fraction, but
over a number of days there will be whole numbers of items.
b Maximise
subject to:
mixing time
or
finishing time
or
and .
5 amount of Xtra (litres)
amount of Yepp (litres)
Maximise
subject to:
or
or
or
or
and .
6 and
7 a and
Exercise 4B
1 B
2
3
4 A and C.
5
6
7 when and
8 when and
9 when and
10 when and , or when and
Work it out 4.1
Solution 2 is correct.
Exercise 4C
1
2 in column row .
3 Yes, because there are no negative values in the objective row.
4
5 in column row (there are no positive entries in column ).
6
7
8 a
The solution is .
b
The solution is .
maximise
subject to:
The objective lines are parallel to the boundary line for the constraint . The vertices that
have been found are the end points of this edge of the feasible region. Every point on this edge will
also give the optimum value .
9 Maximise , so
Pivot on column row :
Minimum when .
10 hours spent studying for specialist round
Maximise
subject to:
, ,
Maximum when , .
Emma should spend hours studying for her specialist round, hours studying for the general
knowledge round and hours sleeping.
Mixed practice 4
1
2
3 and .
4 a at
b at
5
6 Current solution has , but this is not optimal because there is still a negative value in the
objective row, so the maximum value is at least .
subject to:
b in column z row .
c
d Optimum value has been achieved.
Maximum value of when and .
9 a Maximise (pence)
subject to:
b i
iii
c Max
11 a
.
b Substitute :
d
e i Draw an objective line with gradient
So maximum at .
ii £ by making tonnes of Basic, tonnes of Premium and tonnes of Supreme.
12 a in column row .
b , , , , , ,
c
13 when .
14
Min when .
Cross-topic review exercise 1
1
2
3 a Source is , sink is .
b ,
c Maximum flow .
4 a
b , , , , , ,
The first constraint is at its limit; the others still have slack.
8 amount of red (litres)
Maximise
subject to:
.
9 a i ( )
-
ii euros
iii
b i followed by .
ii followed by .
10 a i , , , ,
ii
iii £
b i ;£
ii £
c i £
ii £
d £ £
11 a i Max flow from (along ) so max flow in (along and ) . Flow in is at most .
ii Max flow into (along ) so max flow out (along and ) . Flow in is at most
and flow in is at most , so max flow into is and max flow out (along ) is .
ii For example,
Flow Value
With appropriate changes made to potentials.
iii litres per second.
13 a ( to )
, so
b i Graph cannot contain since no vertex has degree . Graph cannot contain since, for
example, form a cycle. The graph has vertices so there are no spare vertices and each
vertex has degree so there are no spare arcs.
ii For example,
iii and form the two triangular faces of the prism, , and form the three
rectangular faces.
14 a Graph and Graph are isomorphic:
In Graph it is adjacent to the two vertices of degree whereas in the other three graphs it is
adjacent to one vertex of degree and one of degree , so Graph is non-isomorphic to any of the
others.
In Graph the repeated arc connects two vertices of degree whereas in Graphs and they
connect a vertex of degree and a vertex of degree , so Graph is non-isomorphic to Graphs and
.
15 a Maximise
subject to:
.
b
c when , and .
16 a 11
c flow
from to , from to
from to , from to
from to , from to .
d For example,
Maximum flow = minimum cut so is the maximum flow and the minimum cut.
17 a i (for example, , , , , , , , …)
ii (for example, , and ; , and ; , and ; , and ; …)
b i
ii The first node can be paired with any of the remaining nodes; the next node with any of the
remaining nodes, and so on. This gives sets of n paths.
, so .
e
5 Critical path analysis
Before you start
1
Exercise 5A
1
2
3 hours.
4 If is critical, then it is part of a critical path, but the only immediate predecessors of are and ,
so one or both of these would be critical. However, neither nor is critical since and
.
5 a minutes
b
6 a
b days
c and
7 a hours
b
c
d and .
8 a hours
b
9 a and .
b .
Exercise 5B
1 and .
2 a The float is shown after the blocks.
b For example:
. But is only .
4 a hours ( hours minutes)
b i hours
ii hours
iii hours
5
6 a
Activity Duration (days) Immediate predecessors
b i days
ii days
c i days
ii days
7 a minutes
b No delay.
c i minutes
ii minutes
8 a
d If there are workers, then can happen alongside , so the time needed is hours. This saves
hours.
Mixed practice 5
1
2
3 a, b
c hours
d
4 a i Unchanged.
ii still critical but now and are also critical, so there are two critical paths: and .
b hours, hour
5
6 a
b hours ( minutes)
7 a
d
8 a
Activity Earliest start time Latest finish time
b
E
D
C
B
A
0 15 30 45 Hours
c Two workers do the critical activities and then ; the other two do followed by and then .
9 a
Activity Earliest start time Latest finish time
b i
ii hours
c
d i hours
G (2) F (3)
A (2) H (3) E (5) J (1)
B (3) C (2) D (3) I (4)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Hours
d For example,
Share then Cal does .
Share then Cal does and Sam does .
6 Game theory for zero-sum games
Before you start
1
Exercise 6A
1
2
3
4 The total score is not the same for every cell, for example, cell has total score but has
total score .
5 Row min.
Col. max.
so game is stable.
6 a Bob
Alice
b Total score is not the same for each cell, for example, if Alice plays and Bob plays the total score is
but if Alice plays and Bob plays the total score is .
7 Sandi
Row min.
Rupi
Col. max.
b row minima:
col. maxima:
so game is unstable.
9 Row minima:
row maximin if if .
Column maxima: ,
column minimax if if if .
and .
2
3 Add (or a constant ) throughout.
4
5 The entries in column are bigger than the corresponding entries in column , so column is always
worse than column for the player on columns.
7 No dominance.
Col. is better for Fionn than column when Gina plays or , but worse when Gina plays .
Col. is better for Fionn than column when Gina plays but worse when Gina plays or .
Col. is better for Fionn than column when Gina plays or , but worse when Gina plays .
Col. is better for Fionn than column when Gina plays or , but worse when Gina plays .
8 a Ben chooses randomly between the rows so that row is played with probability and row with
probability .
b
c
9 a
b Play row with probability and row with probability .
10 a
Rosie
Jim
b
Rose
5 a ,
b Choose randomly between the columns so that column is played with probability and column
with probability .
6 a Rose chooses randomly between the rows so that row is played with probability and row with
probability .
b Jim chooses randomly between the columns so that column is played with probability and
column with probability .
7
–1
8 a i Row maximin
Col. minimax
Row maximin col. minimax so stable.
ii Adam , Bill
iii
b i
iii
iv
Column minimax .
Play-safe strategy is .
c i dominates since and so delete .
Colum
Roz
expected gain
expected gain
expected gain
Solving:
subject to:
b
11 a
b
d Jenny should choose randomly between strategies and , but never choose strategy , so that
and .
12 a Maximise
subject to:
b and
c Choose with probability , with probability and with probability .
13 rows (objective row, four constraint rows corresponding to the four strategies for the player on
columns and one row for the constraint on the total probability).
columns ( , three probability variables corresponding to the three strategies for the player on
rows, five slack variables and a column for the values on the right-hand side of the equations).
14 a i Row maximin for all values of .
Column minimax
2 a
Exercise 7A
1
2 Yes.
3 but .
4 For example, but .
5 a
which is in .
hence
6 a
c For example, ,
but
7 a and , so
b For example, ,
but .
8 a If or is even), then .
If or ( is odd), then .
b and
Hence, .
When
(since + is commutative)
so * is commutative .
If and are both even or both odd, then , but if one of is odd and the other even, then
.
4 a
b
c is self-inverse, the inverse of is and the inverse of is .
5 a
b is self-inverse.
The inverse of is .
is self-inverse.
The inverse of is .
c
d
e The two Cayley tables have the same structure with (or swap and ).
Addition is associative, so addition modulo is associative and hence the operation o is associative.
7 a
e more: .
c If an element, , say, is both a right identity and a left identity for some operation o, then
for all .
If is another right identity, then for all and hence but , as shown.
Similarly, if is a left identity, then but , as shown. In either case, you can conclude
that .
Mixed practice 7
1
2
3 a
4 a ∇ 0 1 2
0
1
2
b and
c and
d For example,
In particular, .
So is the inverse of .
6 a
is self-inverse.
But .
Hence
and
so @ is associative.
9 The first two bullet points give:
If each row contains and , then .
is not commutative, so , but row contains the numbers and , so this gives
10
8 Groups
Before you start
1 a
3 has period .
For example, ,
.
4 This group has infinite order.
5 In rows and :
… …
So is a proper subgroup.
6
numbers.
Inverses: the inverse of is , since are non-zero and real are non-zero
real numbers.
Any subgroup that includes the element would need to include and so there is no such proper
subgroup.
b For example, or .
Exercise 8B
1 , and .
2
b Apart from the identity, each element of the symmetry group has period . Each element is self-
inverse.
In the cyclic group, has period but and each have period . Only and are self-inverse.
5 a
b Two elements are self-inverse and two are not. So this group cannot be isomorphic to the symmetry
group of a rectangle.
The identity is . Set up a correspondence between elements of and the elements of the
cyclic group .
By Lagrange’s theorem, the order of a proper subgroup must be a factor of , so any proper non-trivial
subgroup can only have order or .
The identity element is , the only self-inverse element is , so the only subgroup of order is
.
and , so and each have period . is a group of order
and each have period so they do not generate any proper non-trivial subgroups.
7 a
Element
Inverse
8 a
b There is no identity element; , but and .
Mixed practice 8
1
2
3
4 The identity has period and the other three elements must each have period .
No element can have period since, otherwise, that element would generate the group and then the
group would be isomorphic to the cyclic group.
5 a , five rotations and five reflections.
b The identity generates the trivial subgroup. Any of the rotations generates the subgroup of order ,
consisting of all the rotations.
Each reflection generates a subgroup of order consisting of the identity and the reflection.
There are five such subgroups of order .
6 a By Lagrange’s theorem, the order of a subgroup is a factor of the order of the group, so the order of
the group is a multiple of both and .
Subgroup where .
Subgroup where .
Subgroup where .
9 a For example, .
b
c .
10 a The identity is ; this is the only element that is common to , and .
b is a subgroup of order so is isomorphic to the cyclic group of order .
c .
11 a
b There is no identity element.
c
12 a
b
c
Cross-topic review exercise 2
1
2
3 a Play-safe for player is .
c Player should always choose strategy . Player will end up losing points per game, but this is
less than the expected loss if strategy is chosen when player plays safe.
4 a
b days
c , ,
d days
5 a
#
c Not commutative, from part a the table is not symmetrical, for example, but .
EST
LFT
Activity
EST
LFT
c hours
d hours
7 a Row dominates row since , and .
Column dominates column since , and .
Column dominates column since , and .
Reduced game:
b
Strategy
Probability
Strategy
Probability
8 a
Earliest start time Latest finish time
Activity
(hour) (hour)
b hour
c
T
S
R
Q
P
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hours
e hours
9 a Stan and , Christine
Row maximin is always and column minimax is always , so they are never equal. The game is
never stable.
11 a
b The identity is .
c Each element is self-inverse.
12 The operation is closed and the identity is . However, the elements and do not have inverses since
does not appear in the rows (or columns) for and .
13 a , multiplication and addition of real numbers are commutative so
.
b , the identity is .
14 and for
so if any of , then .
The remaining cases are those where .
If , then .
For all other cases at least one of and the others are or .
So .
So the operation is associative.
15 a
element
inverse
c ,
16 a
b
4 a The sum of the degrees must be even (there is always an even number of odd vertex degrees). ,
so must be .
c One of the two disconnected subgraphs must have vertices and the other vertices.
If the subgraphs are simple, then the maximum number of edges is when they are and , but
this only gives edges and are required.
5 a Min flow from (along and ) max flow into (along ), so flow in .
b Flow across cut through , , .
So flow along .
c Cut through , , , , ,
Value of cut .
b Route inspection:
Minimum distance .
7
b , , .
b i , ,
ii has hour of float, has hours of float, has hours of float.
ii and (or and ) take hours. (with alongside) then (with after ) take hours.
hours
10 a Row is dominated by row :
, ,
Alex
b Bel
Row min.
Alex
Col. max.
Bruce Forster/Getty Images; Travel Ink/Getty Images; Art Nahpro/Paul Jackson/Getty Images; David
Malan/Getty Images; sharply_done/Getty Images ©Daniela White Images/Getty Images; stock_colors/Getty
Images anucha sirivisansuwan/Getty Images; photo by Pam Susemiehl/Getty Images Judy Davidson/Getty
Images; Peetatham Kongkapech/Getty Images The Real Tokyo Life/Getty Images
University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025,
India
79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108445207
9781108445207 (Cambridge Elevate 2 Year)
9781108445214 (Cambridge Elevate Site Licence)
© Cambridge University Press 2018
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2018
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and
does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or
appropriate.
It is illegal to reproduce any part of this work in material form (including photocopying
and electronic storage) except under the following circumstances:
(i) where you are abiding by a licence granted to your school or institution by the
Copyright Licensing Agency;
(ii) where no such licence exists, or where you wish to exceed the terms of a licence,
and you have gained the written permission of Cambridge University Press;
(iii) where you are allowed to reproduce without permission under the provisions of
Chapter 3 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which covers, for
example, the reproduction of short passages within certain types of educational
anthology and reproduction for the purposes of setting examination questions.