Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg.

, ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

CSE 4131: ALGORITHM DESIGN 2 MARCH, 2024

Assignment 1: Solution

CO 1: to understand the Network flow problem and apply it to solve different real-world problems.

Sl. Questions PO level

No.
1. Consider the maximum flow in a given network between two designated nodes s and t. For
each of the following statements, either explain why it is true or provide a counterexample.
(a) If the capacity of every edge is even, then the value of the maximum flow must be even.
(b) If the capacity of every edge is even, then there is a maximum flow in which the flow on
each edge is even.
(c) If the capacity of every edge is odd, then the value of the maximum flow must be odd.
(d) If the capacity of every edge is odd, then there is a maximum flow in which the flow on
each edge is odd.

Solution:
(a) True: If the capacity of every edge is even, then the value of the maximum flow must be
even. This is because in a flow network, the maximum flow value is determined by the sum
of flows through individual edges. Since the capacities are all even, any combination of
flows through the edges that reaches the maximum flow value must also be even. This is
because the flow along each edge contributes an even amount to the total flow value.

(b) True: let's consider a flow network where the capacities of all edges are even integers.
When you send flow along a path from the source to the sink, the amount of flow sent along
each edge must be an integer and, importantly, since the capacity of each edge is even, the
flow along each edge will also be even. if we think about the conservation of flow at each
node (except the source and sink), the sum of the flow entering the node must be equal to
the sum of the flow leaving the node. Since the flow along each edge is even, the total flow
entering or leaving a node will be even.

(c) False: If the capacity of every edge is odd, the value of the maximum flow may or may
not be odd. Counterexample: Consider a flow network where all capacities are odd, but the
maximum flow value is even. For instance, a network with capacities 1, 1, 1, and 1 on a
path from s to t. Here, the maximum flow is 2.

(d) False: No, the statement is not necessarily true. If the capacities of every edge are odd, it
does not imply that there is a maximum flow in which the flow on each edge is odd.
Consider the following counterexample:
Let's say we have a simple flow network with two nodes, a source (S) and a sink (T),
connected by a single edge with an odd capacity of 1. (S)(T) , capacity=1.
In this case, the maximum flow that can be sent from S to T is 1. However, since the
capacity of the edge is odd, the maximum flow along this edge is also odd. There is no way
to send an odd flow along this edge without violating the capacity constraint.
This counterexample demonstrates that while the capacities of every edge are odd, it doesn't
necessarily guarantee that there exists a maximum flow in which the flow on each edge is
odd.
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

2. Suppose you are given a directed graph G = (V, E), with a positive integer capacity Ce on
each edge e, a designated source s ∈ V, and a designated sink t ∈ V. You are also given an
integer maximum s-t flow in G, defined by a flow value fe on each edge e.
Now suppose we pick a specific edge e ∈ E and increase its capacity by one unit. Show how
to find a maximum flow in the resulting capacitated graph in time O(m + n), where m is the
number of edges in G and n is the number of nodes.

Solution:
The point here is that O(m + n) is not enough time to compute a new maximum flow from
scratch, so we need to figure out how to use the flow f that we are given. Intuitively, even
after we add 1 to the capacity of edge e, the flow f can’t be that far from maximum; after all,
we haven’t changed the network very much. In fact, it’s not hard to show that the maximum
flow value can go up by at most 1

Claim: Consider the flow network G obtained by adding 1 to the capacity of

e. The value of the maximum flow in G is either ν(f) or ν(f) + 1.

Proof:
The value of the maximum flow in G is at least ν(f), since f is still a feasible flow in this
network. It is also integer-valued. So it is enough to show that the maximum-flow value in
G′ is at most ν(f) + 1.
By the Max-Flow Min-Cut Theorem, there is some s-t cut (A, B) in the original flow
network G of capacity ν(f). Now we ask: What is the capacity of (A, B) in the new flow
network G′? All the edges crossing (A, B) have the same capacity in G′ that they did in G,
with the possible exception of e (in case e crosses (A, B)). But Ce only increased by 1, and
so the capacity of (A, B) in the new flow network G′ is at most ν(f) + 1.

The above statement suggests a natural algorithm. Starting with the feasible flow f in G′, we
try to find a single augmenting path from s to t in the residual graph Gf′. This takes time
O(m + n). Now one of two things will happen. Either we will fail to find an augmenting
path, and in this case we know that f is a maximum flow. Otherwise the augmentation
succeeds, producing a flow f of value at least ν(f) + 1. In this case, we know that f must be a
maximum flow. So either way, we produce a maximum flow after a single augmenting path
computation.
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

3. This diagram represents a road network. All vehicles enter at S and leave at T. The numbers
represent the maximum flow rate in vehicles per hour in the direction from S to T.
a. What is the maximum number of vehicles which can enter and leave the network
every hour?
b. Which single section of road could be improved to increase the traffic flow in the
network?

Solution:
The network in the previous activity can be more easily analysed when drawn as a graph, as
shown

The arrows show the flow direction; consequently this is called a directed graph or di-graph.
In this case the edges of the graph also have capacities : the maximum flow rate of vehicles
per hour. The vertices S and T are called the source and sink, respectively

You should have found that the maximum rate of flow for the network is 600. This is
achieved by using each edge with flows as shown.

Also Section DA should be improved by a capacity of 150 in total to increase the total
network flow.

4 The Jungle Junket food truck produces a large variety of different lunch menu items.
Unfortunately, they can only produce their foods in limited quantities, so they often run out
of popular items, making customers sad.
To minimize sadness, Jungle Junket is implementing a sophisticated lunch-ordering system.
Customers text in their acceptable choices before lunch time. Then they can use an
algorithm to preassign lunches to customers. Customers who do not get one of their choices
should receive a Rs100 voucher. Jungle Junket would like to minimize the number of
vouchers they give out.
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

Give an efficient algorithm for Jungle Junket to assign lunches to customers. In general,
suppose that, on a given day, Jungle Junket has produced m types of food items b1, . . . , bm,
and the quantity of each type of food item bj is exactly qj . Suppose that n customers a1, . . .
, an text in their preferences, where each customer ai submits a set Ai of one or more
acceptable lunch choices. The algorithm should assign each customer either one of his/her
choices or a Rs100 voucher. It should minimize the number of vouchers.
(Hint: Model this as a max flow problem.)

Solution:
Model this as a max flow problem. Define a flow network as follows. in which a1 prefers
b1, a2 prefers b1 and bm,... an prefers b2 and bm.

Include special vertices s and t as usual. Have a “first layer” of n vertices corresponding to
the customers, and a “second layer” of m vertices corresponding to the foods. Include an
edge from s to each customer, with capacity 1. Include an edge from customer ai to food
item bj exactly if j ∈ Ai; this will also have capacity 1. Include an edge from food item bj to
t with capacity qj .
Proof: A flow f on this network yields an assignment of food items to customers that
satisfies the customer and food quantity constraints. Specifically, for each customer ai, if
some edge f(ai,bj ) has flow 1, then assign food item bj to customer ai. Note that each
customer ai can get at most one food item, because ai has incoming flow at most 1, so its
outgoing flows must also total at most 1. Since all flows are integral, only one outgoing
edge can have positive flow. Also note that each food item bj cannot be assigned to more
than qj customers, because bj has outgoing flow at most qj , so its incoming flows must also
total at most qj . Thus, the food assignment arising from flow f satisfies all the customer and
food constraints.
Conversely, any food assignment satisfying all these constraints corresponds directly to a
flow through the network: Assign flow 1 to edge (ai,bj ) exactly if customer a1 gets assigned
food item bj . Assign flows to the edges from s and to t to achieve flow conservation.
Moreover, a max flow through this network satisfies the maximum number of customers,
because the definition of a max flow says that it maximizes the total flow out of s (which
corresponds to the number of customers satisfied).
Algorithm: So, all we need to do is run a max flow algorithm on this network, produce an
integral max flow f, and interpret it as a food assignment. The maximum number of satisfied
customers yields the minimum number of vouchers.
Analysis: The number of edges is E = O(mn). The max flow |f| ≤ n. Using the Ford-
Fulkerson algorithm, the time complexity is O(E|f|) = O(mn2).

5. In this problem, you will design an algorithm that takes the following inputs:
 A flow network F = (G, c), where G = (V, E) is a graph with source vertex s and target
vertex t, and c is a capacity function mapping each directed edge of G to a nonnegative
integer;
 A maximum flow f for F ; and
 A triple (u, v, r), where u and v are vertices of G and r is a nonnegative integer = c(u,
v).
The algorithm should produce a maximum flow for flow network F / = (G, c/), where c/ is
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

identical to c except that c/(u, v) = r. The algorithm should run in time O(k·(V +E)), where
|c(u, v)−r| = k. The algorithm should behave differently depending on whether r > c(u, v) or
r < c(u, v).
(a) Start by proving the following basic, general results about flow networks:
1. Increasing the capacity of a single edge (u, v) by 1 can result in an increase of
at most 1 in the max flow.
2. Increasing the capacity of a single edge (u, v) by a positive integer k can result
in an increase of at most k in the max flow.
3. Decreasing the capacity of a single edge (u, v) by 1 can result in a decrease of
at most 1 in the max flow.
4. Decreasing the capacity of a single edge (u, v) by a positive integer k can
result in a decrease of at most k in the max flow.
Solution:

1. If (u, v) is in every min cut, then increasing the capacity of (u, v) by 1 increases
the min cut value by 1. If (u, v) is not in every min cut, then increasing the capacity of (u,
v) by 1 leaves the min cut value unchanged. Either way, the capacity increases by at most
1. The claim follows from the max-flow-min-cut theorem.
2. Increasing by k is the same as increasing in steps of 1. By part 1, each such step
increases the max flow by at most 1. So the total increase is at most k.
3. If (u, v) is in some min cut, then decreasing the capacity of (u, v) decreases the
min cut value by 1. If (u, v) is not in any min cut, then decreasing the capacity of (u, v) by
1 leaves the min cut value unchanged. Either way, the capacity decreases by at most 1.
The claim follows from the max-flow-min-cut theorem.
4. Decreasing by k is the same as decreasing in steps of 1. By part 4, each such step
decreases the max flow by at most 1. So the total decrease is at most k.
(b) Suppose that r > c(u, v). Describe your algorithm for this case in detail, prove that it
works correctly, and analyze its time complexity (in terms of V , E, and k).
Solution:
Then the max flow might increase; by Part (a) 2, it increases by at most k.
Algorithm: Regard the existing flow f as a flow in the new flow network F / = (G, c/).
Start with the residual network of F / for flow f. Repeat k times:
1. Look for an augmenting path in the residual network.
2. If you find one, add it to the existing flow, else return.
Analysis: Using DFS to search for an augmenting path, each pass through the loop takes
time O(V + E), so the total time is O(k · (V + E)).
Proof: As noted, increasing the capacity of a single edge by k can result in an increase of at
most k in the value of the max flow. Each time we find an augmenting path, it increases the
flow by at least 1. So within at most k tries, we reach the max flow.
(c) Suppose that r < c(u, v). Describe your algorithm for this case in detail, prove that it
works correctly, and analyze its time complexity.
Solution:
Then the max flow might decrease; by Part (a) 4, it decreases by at most k.
Algorithm: The algorithm consists of two phases, first removing some flow to fit the
reduced capacity of the new flow network F / = (G, c/), and then restoring flow to achieve
the new max flow.
In Phase 1, if f(u, v) ≤ r then we do not reduce any flows. Otherwise, we reduce the flow on
(u, v) one unit at a time, until it reaches r. For each unit, we proceed as follows.
First reduce the flow on (u, v) by 1. Then, using DFS, search backwards from vertex u,
following incoming edges with positive (incoming) weight, looking for a simple reverse
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

path to s, t, or v. To see why such a path exists, proceed step by step from u, each time
following some incoming edge with positive (incoming) weight. Such an edge must exist
unless we have reached one of the three listed vertices, because we started with a flow
satisfying the flow conservation property. Subtract 1 from the flows along each of the
edges in this path.
If the path we found ended in v, we have already restored the flow conservation condition
throughout the network. Otherwise, vertex v still does not satisfy flow conservation. So in
this case, we use DFS again to search forwards from v, following outgoing edges with
positive (outgoing) weight, looking for a simple path to t or s. Subtract 1 from the flows
along each of the edges in this path.
At this point, we have restored the flow conservation condition while reducing the flow on
(u, v) by 1. We repeat this a total of f(u, v) − r times, reducing the flow on (u, v) to r and
restoring the flow conservation condition.
The result of this reduction is now a valid flow for the new network F / = (G, c/); however,
it needs not to be maximum.
In Phase 2, we augment it to restore maximality. We proceed as in Part (b), trying k times
to augment the flow from s to t.
Analysis: In Phase 1, each reduction of capacity by 1 takes time O(V +E), using DFS for
the two searches. Thus, Phase 1 takes time O(k · (V + E)). Phase 2 is like Part (b), and so
takes time O(k · (V + E)).
Proof: As we noted, after Phase 1, we have a valid flow. Moreover, in each reduction, we
have reduced the value of the flow by at most 1. Therefore, in all, we have reduced the
value of the flow by at most k.
The value of the max flow can be anywhere between the value of the flow after Phase 1
and the value of the original max flow. The difference between these two values is at most
k, so k iterations are enough to restore the max.
7. You are helping the medical consulting firm Doctors Without Weekends set up the work
schedules of doctors in a large hospital. They’ve got the regular daily schedules mainly
worked out. Now, however, they need to deal with all the special cases and, in particular,
make sure that they have at least one doctor covering each vacation day.
Here’s how this works. There are k vacation periods (e.g., the week of Christmas, the July
4th weekend, the Thanksgiving weekend, . . . ), each spanning several contiguous days. Let
Dj be the set of days included in the jth vacation period; we will refer to the union of all
these days, ∪jDj, as the set of all vacation days.
There are n doctors at the hospital, and doctor i has a set of vacation days Si when he or she
is available to work. (This may include certain days from a given vacation period but not
others; so, for example, a doctor may be able to work the Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of
Thanksgiving weekend, but not the Thursday.)
Give a polynomial-time algorithm that takes this information and deter- mines whether it is
possible to select a single doctor to work on each vacation day, subject to the following
constraints.
● For a given parameter c, each doctor should be assigned to work at most c vacation
days total, and only days when he or she is available.
● For each vacation period j, each doctor should be assigned to work at most one of
the days in the set Dj. (In other words, although a particular doctor may work on several
vacation days over the course of a year, he or she should not be assigned to work two or
more days of the Thanksgiving weekend, or two or more days of the July 4th weekend, etc.)
The algorithm should either return an assignment of doctors satisfying these constraints or
report (correctly) that no such assignment exists.
Solution:
This is a very natural setting in which to apply network flow, since at a high level we’re
trying to match one set (the doctors) with another set (the vacation days). The complication
comes from the requirement that each doctor can work at most one day in each vacation
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

period.
So to begin, let’s see how we’d solve the problem without that require- ment, in the simpler
case where each doctor i has a set Si of days when he or she can work, and each doctor
should be scheduled for at most c days total. The construction is pictured in Figure (a). We
have a node ui representing each doctor attached to a node v4 representing each day when he
or she can work; this edge has a capacity of 1. We attach a super-source s to each doctor
node ui by an edge of capacity c, and we attach each day node v4 to a super- sink t by an
edge with upper and lower bounds of 1. This way, assigned days can “flow” through doctors
to days when they can work, and the lower bounds on the edges from the days to the sink
guarantee that each day is covered. Finally, suppose there are d vacation days total; we put a
demand of +d on the sink and —d on the source, and we look for a feasible circulation.
(Recall that once we’ve introduced lower bounds on some edges, the algorithms in the text
are phrased in terms of circulations with demands, not maximum flow.)
But now we have to handle the extra requirement, that each doctor can work at most one
day from each vacation period. To do this, we take each pair (i, j) consisting of a doctor i
and a vacation period j, and we add a “vacation gadget” as follows. We include a new node
wij with an incoming edge of capacity 1 from the doctor node ui, and with outgoing edges of
capacity 1 to each day in vacation period j when doctor i is available to work. This gadget
serves to “choke off” the flow from ui into the days associated with vacation period j, so that
at most one unit of flow can go to them collectively. The construction is pictured in Figure
(b). As before, we put a demand of +d on the sink and —d on the source, and we look for a
feasible circulation. The total running time is the time to construct the graph, which is
O(nd), plus the time to check for a single feasible circulation in this graph.

(a) Doctors are assigned to holiday days without restricting how many days in one holiday a
doctor can work. (b) The flow network is expanded with “gadgets” that prevent a doctor
from working more than one day from each vacation period. The shaded sets correspond to
the different vacation period
8. A graph has a unique minimum cut if there is only one cut that whose weight is the
minimum. Design an algorithm that finds if a graph has a unique minimum cut.
Solution:
First compute a minimum s-t cut C, and define its volume by |C|. Let e1, e2, . . . , ek be the
edges in C. For each ei , try increasing the capacity of ei by 1 and compute a minimum cut
in the new graph. Let the new minimum cut be Ci , and denote its volume (in the new
graph) as |Ci |. If |C| = |Ci | for some i, then clearly Ci is also a minimum cut in the original
graph and C ̸= Ci , so the minimum cut is not unique. Conversely, if there is a different
minimum cut C ′ in the original graph, there will be some ei ∈ C that is not in C ′ , so
increasing the capacity of that edge will not change the volume of C ′ , thus |C| = |Ci |. In
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

conclusion, the graph has a unique minimum cut if and only if |C| < |Ci | for all i. The
algorithm takes at most m + 1 computing of minimum cuts, and therefore runs in
polynomial time.

9. a. Draw the residual graph for the given graph, in each edge f (e)/c(e), f (e) represents the
flow and c(e) represents the capacity in that edge.

Solution:

b. Given a graph G, determine the maximum and minimum number of augmentations

possible for the Ford-Fulkerson algorithm to compute the maximum flow from a source
vertex s to a sink vertex t (path may repeat)

Solution:
The minimum number of augmentations to get the max flow using Ford Fulkerson is 2 (sut,
svt).
The maximum number of augmentations to get the max flow using Ford Fulkerson is
200/5=40. (suvt and svut alternatively).

10. ITER, SOA requires an algorithm to schedule mid-semester exams for their courses each
semester. There are n courses offered, r available rooms, and m time slots for exams. Given
arrays E[1...n] and S[1...r], E[i] represents the number of students enrolled in i-th course
and S[ j] represents the number of seats in each room respectively, an exam for course i
can only be scheduled in room j if the number of enrolled students for that course is less
than or equal to the number of seats available in the room (E[i] ≤ S[j]). It's assumed that no
two courses have overlapping enrollments. The goal is to develop an efficient algorithm for
ITER to assign a room and a time slot to each course, or report if no such assignment is
possible.
Solution: Create three sets of vertices, one set C for each course, one set R for each room,
and one set T for each slot.
Also create a source s and a sink t.
Add an edge from s to each vertex in C with capacity 1.
Add an edge from vertex i in C to vertex j in R with capacity 1 if and only if E[i] <= S[ j].
 Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University

Add an edge from each vertex in R to each vertex in T with capacity 1.

Add an edge from each vertex in T to sink t with capacity >= r .
Now find maximum flow. It is possible only if all edges from s are saturated (or
equivalently, the maximum flow in n).
Dept. of Comp. Sc. and Engg., ITER, S'O'A Deemed To Be University