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DETERMINISTIC MODELS IN OR
PRACTICE EXERCISES – Dynamic Programming

Question 1
Consider the following network,where each number along a link represents the actual distance
between the pair of nodes connected by that link. The objective is to find the shortest path from
the origin to the destination.

a) Use dynamic programming to solve this problem by manually constructing the usual
tables for n = 3, n = 2, and n = 1.
b) Use the shortest-path algorithm presented in Sec. 9.3 (Introduction to Operations
Research by Hillier and Lieberman, 9th ed.) to solve this problem. Compare and contrast
this approach with the one in part (a).

Question 2
The sales manager for a publisher of college textbooks has six traveling salespeople to assign to
three different regions of the country. She has decided that each region should be assigned at
least one salesperson, and that each individual salesperson should be restricted to one of the
regions,but now she wants to determine how many salespeople should be assigned to the
respective regions in order to maximize sales.
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The next table gives the estimated increase in sales (in ap propriate units) in each region if it
were allocated various numbers of salespeople:

Use dynamic programming to solve this problem by constructing the usual tables for n = 3, n =
2, and n = 1.

Question 3
Use dynamic programming to solve a knapsack problem in which the knapsack can hold at most
13 lb.
Item Weight (lb) Benefit
1 3 12
2 5 25
3 7 50

Question 4:
Suppose a 10-lb knapsack is to be filled with the items listed in the following table. To maximize
total benefit, how should the knapsack be filled?
Item Weight (lb) Benefit
1 4 11
2 3 7
3 5 12

Question 5
Consider the following project network (as described in Sec. 9.8),where the number over each
node is the time required for the corresponding activity. Consider the problem of finding the
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longest path (the largest total time) through this network from start to finish,since the longest
path is the critical path.

Use dynamic programming to solve this problem by con structing the usual tables for n = 4, n =
3, n = 2, and n = 1.