OPERATIONS RESEARCH QUESTION BANK

UNIT 1

1. Operations research is the application of ____________methods to arrive at the optimal

solutions to the problems.
A. economical C. a and b both
B. scientific D. artistic
2. Feasible solution satisfies __________
A. Only constraints
C. [a] and [b] both B. only non-negative restriction D.
[a],[b] and Optimum solution

3. In Degenerate solution value of objective function _____________.

A. increases infinitely C. basic variables are nonzero
B. decreases infinitely D. One or more basic variables are zero

4. Minimize Z = ______________
A. –maximize(Z) B. maximize(-Z
C. -maximize(-Z) D. none of the above

5. In graphical method the restriction on number of constraint is __________.

A. 2 C. not more than 3
B. 3 D. none of the above
6. In graphical representation the bounded region is known as _________ region.
A. Solution C. basic solution
B. feasible solution D. optimal
7. Graphical optimal value for Z can be obtained from
A. Corner points of feasible region C. Both a and c
B. corner points of the solution region D. none of the above
8. In LPP the condition to be satisfied is
A. Constraints have to be linear
B. Objective function have to be linear
9. The linear function of variables which is to be maximized or minimized is called
________
A. constraints C. objective function
B. basic requirements D. none of them

UNIT 2

1. The role of artificial variables in the simplex method is

a. to aid in finding an initial solution
b. to find optimal dual prices in the final simplex table
c. to start with Big M method
d. all of these
2. For a minimization problem, the objective function coefficient for an artificial variable is
a. + M C. Zero
b. -M D. None of these
3. For maximization LPP, the simplex method is terminated when all values
a. cj – zj ≤ 0 C. cj –zj = 0
b. cj –zj ≥ 0 D. zj ≤ 0
4. If any value in b - column of final simplex table is negative, then the solution is
a. unbounded C. optimal
b. infeasible D. None of these
5. To convert ≥ inequality constraints into equality constraints, we must
a. add a surplus variable
b. subtract an artificial variable
c. subtract a surplus variable and an add artificial variable
d. add a surplus variable and subtract an artificial variable
6. In the optimal simplex table cj –zj = 0 value indicates
a. unbounded solution C. alternative solution
b. cycling D. None of these
7. At every iteration of simplex method, for minimization problem, a variable in the current
basis is replaced with another variable that has
a. a positive cj –zj value C. cj –zj = 0
a negative cj – zj value D. None of these
8. A variable which does not appear in the basis variable (B) column of simplex table is
a. never equal to zero C. called basic variable
b. always equal to zero D. None of these
9. To formulate a problem for solution by the simplex method, we must add artificial variable
to
a. only equality constraints C. both A & B
b. only > constraints D. None of these
10. If all xij values in the incoming variable column of the simplex table are negative, then
a. solution is unbounded C. there exist no solution
b. there are multiple solution D. None of these
11. If an artificial variable is present in the basic variable column of optimal simplex table,
a. then the solution is
b. unbounded C. optimal
c. infeasible D. None of these
 12. If for a given solution, a slack variable is equal to zero, then
A. the solution is optimal C. there exist no solution
B. the solution is infeasible D. None of these
13. Linear programming problem involving more than two variables can be solved by
______________
A. Simplex method C. Matrix minima method
B. Graphical method D. None of these

UNIT 3
1. The TP is said to be unbalanced if _______________.
a¹ b
A. ∑ ∑ i j C. m=n
B. ∑∑ D. m+n-1= no. of allocated cell

2. The initial solution of a transportation problem can be obtained by applying any known
method. However, the only condition is that
A. Rim condition should be satisfied
C. one of the Xij < 0
B. cost matrix should be square D. None of them
3. In non-degenerate solution number of allocated cell is____________.
A. Equal to m+n-1 C. Equal to m+n+1
B. Not equal to m+n-1 D. Not equal to m+n+1
4. From the following methods ___________ is a method to obtain initial solution to
Transportation Problem.
A. North-West C. Hungarian
B. Simplex D. Newton Raphson
5. The Penalty in VAM represents difference between _________ cost of respective row /
column.
A. Two Largest C. largest and smallest
B. smallest two D. none of them
6. Number of basic allocation in any row or column in Assignment Problem can be
A. Exactly one C. at least one
B. at most one D. none of them
7. North – West corner refers to ____________.
A. top left corner C. both of them
B. top right corner D. none of them
8. The ______________ method's solution for transportation problem is sometimes an
optimal solution itself.
A. NWCM C. LCM
B. VAM D. Row Minima

9. In Assignment Problem the value of decision variable xij is____.

A. no restriction C. one or zero
B. two or one D. none of them

10. If number of sources is not equal to number of destination in Assignment problem then it
is called ___________.
A. unbalanced B. symmetric
C D. unsymmetric

11. The _____ method used to obtain optimum solution of travelling salesman problem.
A. Si
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 12. The initial solution of a transportation problem can be obtained by applying any known
method. However, the only condition is that
A. the solution be optimal
B. the rim condition are satisfied
C. the solution not be degenerate
D. all of the above
13. The dummy source or destination in a transportation problem is added to
A. satisfy rim condition
B. prevent solution from becoming degenerate
C. ensure that total cost does not exceed a limit
D. all of the above
14. The occurrence of degeneracy while solving a transportation problem means that
A. total supply equals total demand
B. the solution so obtained is not feasible
C. the few allocations become negative
D. none of the above
15. An alternative optimal solution to a minimization transportation problem exists whenever
opportunity cost corresponding to unused routes of transportation is:
A. positive and greater than zero
B. positive with at least one equal to zero
C. negative with at least one equal to zero
D. all of the above
16. One disadvantage of using North-West Corner Rule to find initial solution to the
transportation problem is that
A. it is complicated to use
B. it does not take into account cost of transportation
C. it leads to degenerate initial solution
D. all of the above
17. The solution to a transportation problem with m-rows and n-columns is feasible if
number of positive allocations are
A. m+n C. m + n -1
B. mxn D. all of the above
18. The calculation of opportunity cost in the MODI method is analogous to a
A. cj – zj value for non-basic variable columns in the simplex method
B. value of a variable in b-column of the simplex method
C. variable in xb-column
D. all of the above

19. If we were to use opportunity cost value for an unused cell to test optimality, it should be
A. equal to zero C. most positive number
B. most negative number D. all of the above
20. An assignment problem is considered as a particular case of a Transportation problem
because
A. the number of rows equals columns
B. all xij= 0
C. all rim conditions are 1
D. all of above

21. The purpose of a dummy row or column in an assignment problem is to

A. obtain balance between total activities and total resources
B. prevent a solution from becoming degenerate
C. provide a means of representing a dummy problem
D. none of the above
22. The Hungarian method for solving an assignment problem can also be used to solve
A. a transportation problem C. both A and B
B. a traveling salesman problem D. only B
23. An optimal of an assignment problem can be obtained only if
A. each row and column has only one zero element
B. each row and column has at least one zero element
C. the data are arrangement in a square matrix
D. none of the above

24. The method used for solving an assignment problem is called

A. reduced matrix method C. Hungarian method
B. MODI method D. none of the above

UNIT 4
1. Dynamic programming is a mathematical technique dealing with the optimization of
_______ stage decision process.
A. multi C. both A and B
B. single D. none of them
2. In sequencing if smallest time for a job belongs to machine-1 then that job has to placed
___________ of the sequence.
 A. in the middle C. in the starting
B. at end D. none of them

3. In sequencing the time involved in moving jobs from one machine to another is
________.
A. negligible C. positive number
B. significant D. none of them
4. ___________ operation is carried out on a machine at a time.
A. Two C. atleast one
B. only one D. none of them

5. Processing time Mij’s are __________of order of processing the jobs.

A. dependent C. negligible
B. independent D. none of them

6. Activity which starts only after finishing other activity is called _____________.
A. dummy C. successor
B. Predecessor D. none of them
7. Burst and Merge are types of ___________ in networking.
A. event C. arrow
B. activity D. tools
8. Activity which does not require any resources or time is called __________.
A. dummy C. successor
B. Predecessor D. none of them
9. Event indicates ____________ of activity.
A. starting C. both A and B
B. ending D. none of them

10. _____________ is indicated by dotted arrow.

A. burst event C. dummy activity
B. merge event D. none of them
11. ______ event represents beginning of more than one activities.
A. burst C. dummy
B. merge D. none of them
12. Merge event represents ___________ of two or more events.
A. beginning C. splitting
B. completion D. none of them
13. Activity which is completed before starting new activity is called___________.
A. dummy C. successor
B. predecessor D. none of them

14. The Objective of network analysis to

A. Minimize total project duration
B. Minimize total project cost
C. Minimize production delays, interruption and conflicts
D. All of the above
15. Network models have advantage in terms of project
A. Planning C. Controlling
B. Scheduling D. All of the above
16. The slack for an activity is equal to
A. LF-LS
B. EF-ES
C. LS-ES
D. None of the above
 17. The Another term commonly used for activity slack time is
A. Total float C. independent float
B. Free float D. All of the above

18. If an activity has zero slack, it implies that

A. It lies on the critical path
B. It is a dummy activity
C. The project progressing well
D. None of the above

19. A dummy activity is used in the network diagram when

A. Two parallel activities have the same tail and head events
B. The chain of activities may have a common event yet be independent by
themselves
C. Both A and B
D. None of the above
20. While drawing the network diagram , for each activity project, we should look
A. What activities precede this activity?
B. What activities follow this activity?
C. What activities can take place concurrently with this activity?
D. All of the above
21. The critical path satisfy the condition that
A. Ei = L i & E j = L j
B. Lj-Ei=Li-Lj
C. Lj-Ei=Li-Ej=c(constant)
D. All of the above
 22. If there are in jobs to be performed, one at a time, on each of m machines, the
possible sequences would be
A. (n!)m C. (n)m
B. (m!)n D. (m)
n

23. Total elapsed time to process all jobs through two machine is given by
A. n n C. n
Σ M1j + Σ M2j Σ (M1j + I1j)
j=1 j=1 j=1

B. n n D. None of the above

Σ M2j + Σ M1j
j=1j=1

24. The minimum processing time on machine M1 and M2 are related as

A. Min t1j = Max t2j C. Min t1j ≥ Max t2j
B. Min t1j ≤ Max t2j D. Min t2j ≥ Max t1j
25. You Would like to assign operators to the equipment that has
A. Most jobs waiting to be processed
B. Job with the earliest due date
C. Job which has been waiting longest
D. All of the above

SHORT QUESTIONS
UNIT 1
1. Define Operation research.
2. Write down any two scopes of operation research.
3. State phases for formulating the operations research problems.
4. Define i) Solution ii) Basic solution.
5. Define i) Unbounded solution ii) Optimum solution
6. Define feasible solution.
7. Define LPP in the mathematical form.
8. Give any four models of operations research
9. What is Linear programming problem?
10. Write the advantages of LPP.
11. Write the limitations of LPP
12. How will you plot inequalities of a LPP?

UNIT 2

1. Define slack variables.

2. Define surplus variables.
3. Define artificial variables.
4. When is Big M method useful ?
5. What is the condition for optimality in simplex table ?
6. What is the condition for entering variable in simplex table ?
7. Write the standard form of LPP for the following LPP:
Maximize Z 13x1 25x2
S u b j e c t t o 2 1 x 1 + 3 x 2 £ 4 0 , 5 x 1 + 2 x 2 £ 7 ,x 1 , x 2 ³ 0
8. Write the standard form of LPP for the following LPP:
M a x i m i z e Z 3x15x2
Subjectto 2x1 +3x2 £4, 3x1 +2x2 ³7, x1, x2 ³0

9. What is NER while solving LPP by Simplex method?

10. What is the criterion for the entering variable and outgoing variable?
11. What is Replacement ratio while solving LPP by Simplex method
12. What is the criterion for test of optimality?
13. Represent the form of a simplex table.
14. How do you transform key row in a simplex table? Or How will you find the new solution
in the Simplex table.
15. State the situation in simplex table which will represent
(i) Unbounded solution (ii) unique optimum solution (iii) alternate optimum solution.
UNIT 3

1. What is transportation problem?

2. Write mathematical form of transportation problem.
3. What is feasible solution and non degenerate solution in transportation problem?
4. What do you mean by balanced transportation problem?
5. What is the Assignment problem?
6. Give mathematical form of assignment problem.
7. What is travelling salesman problem?

8. What is the difference between Assignment Problem and Transportation Problem?

9. Write steps for North-West Corner Method.
10. Write steps for Matrix Minima Method.
UNIT 4

1. State Bellman’s principle of optimality in dynamic programming.

2. In brief explain problem of sequencing.
 3. How will you allocate jobs in a sequence if two jobs on first machine have same
processing time?
4. Write down any two assumptions used for solving sequencing problem.
5. Define two types of events used in network analysis.
6. What is dummy activity?
7. What is total float?
8. What is free float and independent float?
9. What is successor activity?
10. Define terms: Activity, Event, Merge Event, Burst Event, Total float, Free float,
Independent float, Critical path
11. State Rules for Network Diagram.
12. Write disadvantages of Network techniques.
13. What is Dynamic Programming Problem?
14. State the principle of optimality in dynamic programming.
15. Write assumptions of sequencing problems.

LONG QUESTIONS
UNIT 1

1. Explain the history of operations research.

2. Write the algorithm to solve LPP using Graphical method for maximization of profit.
3. Give the limitations of operations research.
4. Note down the applications of operations research.
5. Write down meanings of operations research.
6. A person requires at least 10 and 12 units of chemicals A and B respectively, for his
garden. A liquid product contains 5 and 2 units of A and B respectively per bottle. A dry
product contains 1 and 4 units of A and B respectively per box. If the liquid product sales
for Rs. 30 per bottle, dry product sales for Rs. 40 per box. How many of each should be
purchased in order to minimize the cost and meet the requirements? Formulate the L.P.P.
7. A firm manufactures two types of products A and B and sells them at a profit of Rs. 200
on type A and Rs. 300 on type B. each product is processed on two machines G and H.
type A requires 1 minute of processing time on G and 2minutes on H; Type B requires 1
minute on G and 1 minute on H. the machine G is available for not more than 6 hours, 40
minutes while H is available for 10 hours during any working day. Formulate this problem
as a linear programming problem.
8. A firm manufactures headache pills in two sizes A and B. size A contains 2 grains of
aspirin , 5 grains of bicarbonate and 1 grain of codeine. Size B contains 1 grain of aspirin,
8 grains of bicarbonate and 6 grains of codeine. It is found by users that it requires at
least 12 grains of aspirin, 74 grains of bicarbonate and 24 grains of codeine for providing
immediate effect. It is required to determine the least number of pills a patient should take
to get immediate relief. Formulate the problem as a LPP.
9. A carpenter produces two products chairs and tables. Processing of these products is
done on two machines A and B. Chair requires 2 hours on machine A and 6 hours on
machine B. A table requires 5 hours on machine A and no hours on machine There are
16 hours of time per day available on machine A and 30 hours on machine B. Assuming
that the profit per chair is Rs. 20 and Rs. 35 for table. Formulate the problem as LPP in
order to determine the number of chairs and tables to be produced so as to maximize the
profit.
10. A manufacturer has two machines A and B. He manufactures two products P and Q on
these two machines. For manufacturing product P he has to use machine A for 3 hours
and machine B for 6 hours, and for manufacturing product Q he has to use machine A for
6 hours and machine B for 5 hours. On each unit of P he earns Rs. 14 and on each unit of
Q he earns Rs. 10. How many units of P and Q should be manufactured to get the
maximum profit? Each machine cannot be used for more than 2100 hours. Formulate as
LPP.

11. Vitamin A and B are found in foods F1 and F2. One unit of food F1 contains three unit of
vitamin A and four unit of vitamin B. One unit of food F 2 contains six unit of vitamin A and
three unit of vitamin B. One unit of food F1 and F2 cost Rs 14 and Rs 20 respectively. The
minimum daily requirement (for person) of vitamin A and B is of 80 and100 units.
Assuming excess of vitamin is not harmful to health, formulate LPP to obtain optimum
mixture of food F1 and F2 required to meet the daily demand such that the total cost is
minimized.
12. An electronic company is engaged in production of two components C1 and C2 used in
radio sets. The availability of different aspects and the prices are given below. Formulate
as LPP to determine number of components C 1 and C2 to be produced so as to maximize
the profit.
Resources/Constraint Components Total Availability
C1 C2
Budget(Rs) 10 / unit 40 / unit 4000
Machine time 3 hr / unit 2 hr / unit 2000 hrs
Assembly time 2 hr / unit 3 hr / unit 1400 hrs
Profit Rs.22 Rs. 40

13. A firm can produce two types of cloth, say: A and B. Three kinds of wool are required for
it, say : red, green and blue wool. One unit length of type A cloth needs 4 meters of red
wool and 3 meters of green wool; whereas one unit length of type B cloth needs 3 meters
of red wool, 2 meters of green wool and 5 meters of blue wool. The firm has only a stock
of 10 meters of red wool, 6 meters of green wool and 15 meters of blue wool. It is
 assumed that the profit obtained from one unit length type A cloth is Rs. 13 and of type B
cloth is Rs. 25. Formulate as LPP.
14. A company makes two type varieties, Alpha and Beta, of pens. Each Alpha pen needs
twice as much labour time as a Beta pen. If only Beta pens are manufactured, the
company can make 500 pens per day. The market can take only up to 150 alpha pens
and 250 Beta pens per day. If alpha and Beta pens yield profits of Rs. 8 and Rs. 5
respectively per pen, determine the number of Alpha and Beta pens to be manufactured
per day so as to maximize the profit. Formulate as L.P.P.
15. Graphical Method
 Solve the following LLP by graphical method.
(1) Maximize z = 25x1 + 20x2

UNIT 2

1. 1  M a x im iz e Z = 3 x1 + 5 x2
S u b je c t to x1 + x 2 £ 4 , 3 x1 + 2 x 2 £ 1 8, x1 , x2 ³ 0
2. 2  M a x im iz e Z = 7 x1 + 5 x2
S u b je c t to x1 + 2 x 2 £ 6 , 4 x1 + 3 x 2 £ 1 2 , x1 , x2 ³ 0
3. 3 Maximize Z = 5x1 +7x2
Subject to x1 + x2 £ 4, 10 x1 + 7 x2 £ 35, x1 , x2 ³ 0
4. 4  Maximize Z = 3x1 + 2x2
Subject to 2 x1 + x2 £ 5, x1 + x2 £ 3, x1 , x2 ³ 0
5. 5  M axim ize Z = 3 x1 + 4 x2
S ubject to x1 + x 2 £ 6, 2 x1 + 4 x 2 £ 20, x1 , x2 ³ 0
6. 6  M ax im ize Z = 5 x1 + 3 x2
S u bject to 3 x1 + 5 x 2 £ 1 5, 5 x1 + 2 x 2 £ 10, x1 , x2 ³ 0

BIG M Method

7. 1  M a x im iz e Z = 3 x1 - x2
S u b je c t to 2 x 1 + x 2 ³ 2 , x1 + 3 x 2 £ 3, x1 , x2 ³ 0
8. 2  M a x im iz e Z = 3 x1 - x 2 + 4 x3
S u b je c t to - 3 x1 + x 2 + x 3 ³ 2 , - 5 x1 - 2 x 2 £ 3, x1 , x2 ³ 0
9. 3  Maximize Z  5 x1  2x2  x3
Subject to 2 x1 + 2 x2 - x3 ³ 2, 3 x1 - 4 x2 ³ 3, x2 + 3 x3 ³ 5 where x1 , x2 , x3 ³ 0
10. 4  Maximize Z 2 x 1  9x2  x3
Subject to x1 + 4 x2 + 2 x3 ³ 5, 3 x1 + x2 + 2 x3 ³ 4, x1 , x2 , x3 ³ 0
11. What is the standard form of the LPP? State its characteristics.
12. Write the steps of the algorithm for solving LPP by the Simplex method.
13. Explain about Big –M method for solving LPP by the Simplex method.
14. Max z = 18x1 + 24x2
s.t. 4x1 + 2x2 ≤ 8, 2x1 + 5x2 ≤ 12 where x1 ,x2 ≥ 0
15. Min Z = 12x1 + 20x2
s.t. 6x1 + 8x2 ≥ 10, 7x1 + 12x2 ≥ 12 where x1 ,x2 ≥ 0
16. Max z = 30x1 + 20x2
s.t. 3x1 + x2 ≥ 40, 2x1 + 5x2 ≥ 44 where x1 ,x2 ≥ 0

UNIT 3

1. What is difference between transportation problem and assignment problem?

2. Give the algorithm of NWCM to obtain basic feasible initial solution to transportation
problem.
3. Give the algorithm of LCM to obtain basic feasible initial solution to transportation
problem.
4. Give the algorithm of VAM to obtain basic feasible initial solution to transportation
problem.
5. Write the steps for solving a A.P. by Hungarian method.
6. Write a short note on travelling salesman problem.
7. Examples of Transportation problem
O3 0 2 2 1 10
Demand 4 6 8 6
1) D1 D2 D3 D4 Supply
Obtain the initial solution to above TP
O1 6 4 1 5 14 using least cost method.
O2 8 9 2 7 16
O3 4 3 6 2 5
Dem. 6 10 15 4

Obtain the initial solution to above

TP using northwest corner method.

2) D1 D2 D3 D4 Supply
O1 1 2 3 4 6
O2 4 3 2 0 8
3) A B C D Supply
I 6 3 5 4 22
II 5 9 2 7 15
III 5 7 8 6 8
Demand 7 12 17 9

Obtain the initial solution to above TP

using least cost method.

4) A B C D Supply
I 1 5 3 3 34
II 3 3 1 2 15
III 0 2 2 3 12
IV 2 7 2 4 19
Demand 21 25 17 17

Obtain the initial solution to above TP

using northwest corner method.
5) I II III IV Supply 6) D1 D2 D3 D4 Supply
A 21 16 15 13 11 O1 1 2 1 4 30
B 17 18 14 23 13 O2 3 3 2 1 50
C 32 27 18 41 19 O3 4 2 5 9 20
Demand 6 10 12 15 Demand 20 40 30 10

Obtain the initial solution to above TP Obtain the initial solution to above TP
using Vogel’s approximation method. using Vogel’s approximation method.
7) I II III IV Supply 8) a b c Supply
A 2 3 11 7 6 I 10 9 8 8
B 1 0 6 1 1 II 10 7 10 7
C 5 8 15 10 10 III 11 9 7 9
Demand 7 5 3 2 17 IV 12 14 10 4
Demand 10 10 8
Obtain the optimal solution to above TP.
Obtain the initial solution to above TP
using northwest corner method.

9) Warehouses 10) Destination Supply

W1 W2 W3 W4 Supply Source I II III IV
F1 19 30 50 10 7 A 19 14 23 11 11
F2 70 30 40 60 9 B 15 16 12 21 13
F3 40 8 70 20 18 C 30 25 16 39 19
Demand 5 8 7 14 Demand 6 10 12 15

Obtain the optimal solution to above TP. Obtain the optimal solution to above TP.
8. Examples of Assignment problem

Solve the following Assignment Problems.

1) P Q R S 2)
A 22 30 21 15
B 18 33 9 31
C 44 25 24 21
D 23 30 28 14

3) A B C D E F 4)
1 13 13 16 23 19 9
2 11 19 26 16 17 18
3 12 11 4 9 6 10
4 7 15 9 14 14 13
5 9 13 12 8 14 11
 I II III IV
1 11 10 18 5
2 14 13 12 19
3 5 3 4 2
4 15 18 17 9

P Q R S
A 5 3 4 7
B 2 3 7 6
C 4 1 5 2
D 6 8 1 2

5) Find the assignment of salesmen to various districts which will result minimum cost.

Salesman District
1 2 3 4
A 16 10 14 11
B 14 11 15 15
C 15 15 13 12
D 13 12 14 15
6) Solve the following assignment problem so as to minimize the time (in days)
required to complete all the task.
person task
1 2 3 4 5
A 6 5 8 11 16
B 1 13 16 1 10
C 16 11 8 8 8
D 9 14 12 10 16
7) A department has 5 employees and five jobs are to be performed. The time each man
will take to perform each job is given in the following table below. How should the job be
allocated one per employee, so as to minimize the total man-hours.
Cost matrix
Jobs Employee
A B C D E
1 9 3 10 13 4
2 9 17 13 20 5
3 5 14 8 11 6
4 11 13 9 12 3
5 12 8 14 16 7

9. Three fertilizers factories X, Y and Z located at different places of the country produce 6,4
and 5 lakh tones of urea respectively. Under the directive of the central government, they
are to be distributed to 3 States A, B and C as 5, 3 and 7 lakh respectively. The
transportation cost per tones in rupees is given below:

A B C
X 11 17 16
Y 15 12 14
Z 20 12 15
Find out suitable transportation pattern at minimum cost by North West Corner method
and Least Cost method.
10. Determine an IBFS by Vogel’s Approximation method.
Source D1 D2 D3 D4 Supply
S1 19 30 50 10 7
S2 70 30 40 60 9
S3 40 8 70 20 18
Demand 5 8 7 14

11. A departmental has five employees with five jobs to be performed. The time ( in hours)
each men will take to perform each job is given in the effectiveness matrix.
How the jobs should be allocated, one per employee, so as to minimize the total man-
hours.
Employees
jobs 1 2 3 4 5
a 10 5 13 15 16
 b 3 9 18 13 6
c 10 7 2 2 2
d 7 11 9 7 12
e 7 9 10 4 12

12. A machine operator processes five types of items on his machine each week, and must
choose a sequence for them. The set up cost per change depends on the item presently
on the machine and the set- up cost be made according to the following table:
To item
From item A B C D E
1 -- 4 7 3 4
2 4 -- 6 3 4
3 7 6 -- 7 5
4 3 3 7 -- 7
5 4 4 5 7 --
If he processes each type of item once and only once each week, how should he
sequence the items on his machine in order to minimize the total set-up cost?
13. A city corporation has decided to carry out road repairs on main four arteries of the city.
The government has agreed to make a special grant of Rs 50 lakh towards the cost with a
condition that repairs are done at the lowest cost and quickest time. If the conditions
warrant, a supplementary token grant will also be considered favorably. The corporation
has floated tenders and five contractors have sent in their bids. In order to expedite work,
one road will be awarded to only one contractor.

Cost of Repairs (Rs in lakh)

Contractors R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
C1 9 14 19 15 13
C2 7 17 20 19 18
C3 9 18 21 18 17
C4 10 12 18 19 18
C5 10 15 21 16 15
Find the best way of assigning the repair work to the contractors and the costs.
If it is necessary to seek supplementary grants, what should be the amount sought?
14. A company has factories at F1, F2 & F3 which supply warehouses ay W1,W2 and W3.
Weekly factory capacities are 200,160 and 90 units respectively. Weekly warehouses
requirements are 180,120 and 150 units respectively. Unit shipping costs ( in rupees) are
as follows:
Warehouse
Factory w1 w2 w3 Supply
F1 16 20 12 200
F2 14 8 18 160
F3 26 24 16 90
Demand 180 120 150
Determine the optimum distribution for this company to minimize the shipping cost.

15. Determine the optimum basic feasible solution to the following transportation problem.
A B C Available
I 50 30 220 1
II 90 45 170 3
III 250 200 50 4
Required 4 2 2

Hint: Find Initial Basic Feasible Solution using VAM method.

16. Determine the optimum basic feasible solution to the following transportation problem.
D1 D2 D3 D4 Available
O1 1 2 1 4 30
O2 3 3 2 1 50
O3 4 2 5 9 20
Required 20 40 30 10 100

Hint: Find Initial Basic Feasible Solution using Lowest cost method.
17. Determine the optimum basic feasible solution to the following transportation problem in
which cell entries represent unit costs.
To Available
2 7 4 5
From 3 3 1 8
5 4 7 7
1 6 2 14
Required 7 9 18 34

Hint: Find Initial Basic Feasible Solution using VAM.

18. Solve the transportation problem where all entries are unit costs.

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 ai
O1 73 40 9 79 20 8
O2 62 93 96 8 13 7
O3 96 65 80 50 65 9
 O4 57 58 29 12 87 3
O5 56 23 87 18 12 5
bj 6 8 10 4 4

Hint: Find Initial Basic Feasible Solution using Lowest cost method.
19. The following table gives the cost for transporting material from supply points A, B, C and
to demand points E, F, G, H and J.

To
E F G H J
A 8 10 12 17 15
B 15 13 18 11 9
From C 14 20 6 10 13
D 13 19 7 5 12

The present allocation is as follows:

A to E 90, A to F 10, B to F 150, C to F 10, C to G 50, C to J 120, D to H 210, D to J 70.
Check if this allocation is optimum. If not, find an optimum schedule.

20. The following table shows all the necessary information on the available supply to each
warehouse, the requirement of each market and the unit transportation cost for each
warehouse to each market.

Market
I II III IV Supply
A 5 2 4 3 22
Warehouse B 4 8 1 6 15
C 4 6 7 5 8
Requirement 7 12 17 9

The shipping clerk has worked out the following schedule from experience: 12 units from
A to II, 1 unit from A to III, 9 units from A to IV, 15 units from B to III, 7 units from C to I
and 1 unit from C to III.
Check and see if the clerk has the optimum schedule. If not, find the optimum schedule
and minimum total shipping cost.
21. Determine the optimum basic feasible solution to the following transportation problem.
A B C Available
I 50 30 220 1
II 90 45 170 3
III 250 200 50 4
Required 4 2 2

Hint: Find Initial Basic Feasible Solution using Lowest cost method.
22. Is x13 = 50, x14 = 20, x21 = 55, x31 = 30, x32 = 35 , x34 = 25 an optimum solution of the
following transportation problem?
To Available
From 6 1 9 3 70
11 5 2 8 55
10 12 4 7 90
Required 85 35 50 45

23. Solve following assignment problem.

1 2 3 4
I 12 30 21 15
II 18 33 9 31
III 44 25 24 21
IV 23 30 28 14

24. Solve following cost minimizing problem.

Jobs
I II III IV V
A 45 30 65 40 55
B 50 30 25 60 30
Machines C 25 20 15 20 40
D 35 25 30 30 20
E 80 60 60 70 50

25. Solve following cost minimizing problem.

Jobs
I II III IV V
A 2 9 2 7 1
B 6 8 7 6 1
C 4 6 5 3 1
D 4 2 7 3 1
E 5 3 9 5 1
 26. A department head has four subordinates and four tasks have to be performed.
Subordinates differ in efficiency and tasks differ in their intrinsic difficulty. Time each man
would take to perform each task is given in the efficiency matrix. How the tasks should be
allocated to each person so as to minimize the total man-hours?
I II III IV
A 8 26 17 11
Tasks B 13 28 4 26
C 38 19 18 15
D 19 26 24 10
27. A car hire company has one car at each of five depots a, b, c, d and e. A customer
requires a car in each town, namely A, B, C, D and E. Distance (in kms) between depots
(origins) and towns 9destinations) are given in the following matrix:

a b c d e
A 160 130 175 190 200
B 135 120 130 160 175
C 140 110 155 170 185
D 50 50 80 80 110
E 55 35 70 80 105
How should cars be assigned to customers so as to minimize the distance travelled?
28. A department has five employees with five jobs to be performed. The time (in hours) each
man will take to perform each job is given in the effectiveness matrix.
Employees
I II III IV V
A 10 5 13 15 16
B 3 9 18 13 6
Jobs C 10 7 2 2 2
D 7 11 9 7 12
E 7 9 10 4 12
How should the jobs be allocated, one per employee, so as to minimize the total man-
hours?
29. A solicitor’s firm employs typists for their daily work. There are five typists and their
charges are different. Only one job is given to one typist. Find least cost allocation for the
following data:
Jobs
P Q R S T
A 85 75 65 125 75
B 90 78 66 132 78
Typists C 75 66 57 114 69
D 80 72 60 120 72
E 76 64 56 112 68

30. In a textile sales emporium, four salesman A, B, C and D are available to four counters W,
X, Y and Z. Each salesman can handle any counter. The service (in hour) of each counter
when manned by each salesman is given below:
Salesman
A B C D
W 41 72 39 52
CounterX 22 29 49 65
Y 27 39 60 51
Z 45 50 48 52

How should the salesman be allocated appropriate counters so as to minimize the service
time? Each salesman must handle only one counter.

UNIT 4

1. Write down the procedure for solving problem of sequencing with two machines.
2. State the rules for drawing network diagram.
3. Write down the procedure to obtain optimum completion time using Critical Path method.
4. Find the critical path and calculate the Total float and Free float for the following PERT
diagram.

2 5 8
8 6
10 13
7

8 16 12
1 3 7 10

9 15
7 5
4 6 9

4
2 6 2
 2
2 5
3 7 8 9
1

4 5

5. A small maintenance project consists of the following 12 jobs

Duration Duration Duration
Jobs Jobs Jobs
in days in days in days
1-2 2 3-5 5 6-10 4
2-3 7 4-6 3 7-9 4
2-4 3 5-8 5 8-9 1
3-4 3 6-7 8 9-10 7
Draw the arrow network of the project. Determine the critical path.

6. A project has the following time schedule:

Activity Time Activity Time Activity Time
In month In month In month
1-2 2 3-6 8 6-9 5
1-3 2 3-7 5 7-8 4
1-4 1 4-6 3 7-9 3
2-5 4 5-8 1

Construct PERT network and compute total float for each activity. Find Critical path with
its duration.
7. In a machine shop 8 different products are being manufactured each requiring time on
two different machines A and B are given in the table below:
Product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Machine-A 30 45 15 20 80 120 65 10
Machine B 20 30 50 35 35 40 50 20
Find an optimal sequence of processing of different product in order to minimize the total
manufctured time for all product. Find total ideal time for two machines and elapsed time.
8. In a machine shop 6 different products are being manufactured each requiring time on
two different machines A and B are given in the table below:
Product 1 2 3 4 5 6
Machine-A 30 120 50 20 90 110
Machine B 80 100 90 60 30 80
Find an optimal sequence of processing of different product in order to minimize the total
manufctured time for all product. Find total ideal time for two machines and elapsed time.
9. In a printing shop 7 different books are printed and bounded on two different machines A
and B. Time required on two machines are given in the table below:
Product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Printing 3 4 8 3 6 7 5
Binding 8 6 3 7 2 8 4

Find an optimal sequence of processing of different product in order to minimize the total
manufctured time for all product. Find total ideal time for two machines and elapsed time.

Extra

10. Write similarities and differences between PERT and CPM.

11. Write applications of PERT/CPM techniques.
12. Write uses of PERT/CPM techniques.
13. Write the steps for Processing n jobs through two machines.
14. State “the Principle of Optimality” and its mathematical formulation of a dynamic
programming problem.
15. Draw the Network Diagram for the following activities and find the critical path.
Job A B C D E F G H I J K
Job time(days) 13 8 10 9 11 10 8 6 7 14 18
Immediate - A B C B E D,F E H G,I J
predecessors
 16. A project has the following time Schedule. Construct a PERT network and compute
Critical Path and its duration. Also calculate Total float,Free float.
Activity 1-2 1-3 2-4 3-4 3-5 4-9 5-6
Time in Weeks 4 1 1 1 6 5 4
Activity 5-7 6-8 7-8 8-9 8-10 9-10
Time in Weeks 8 1 2 1 8 7

17. A project schedule has the following characteristics. Construct the PERT network and find
the critical path and time duration of the project.
Activity 1-2 1-4 1-7 2-3 3-6 4-5 4-8 5-6 6-9 7-8 8-9
Time 2 2 1 4 1 5 8 4 3 3 5

18. A salesman located in a city A decided to travel to city B. He knew the distance of
alternative routes from city A to city B. He then drew a highway network map as shown in
Figure. The city of origin, A, is city 1. The destination city B, is city 10. Other cities through
which the salesman will have to pass through are numbered 2 to 9. The arrow
representing routes between cities and distances in kilometers are indicated on each
route. The salesman’s problem is to find the shortest route that covers all the selected
cities from A to B.
Also the distance in kilometers is given below:

Activity Distance travelled. Activity Distance

travelled.
1-2 4 3-7 4
1-3 6 4-5 6
1-4 3 4-6 10
2-5 7 4-7 5
2-6 10 5-8 4
2-7 5 5-9 8
3-5 3 6-8 3
3-6 8 6-9 7
3-7 4 7-8 8
4-5 6 7-9 4
4-6 10 8-10 7
4-7 5 9-10 9

2
4 5
8
10
1 3 6

7
4