CS 6385 Final Exam Sample Questions with Answers

RULES:
Exactly one answer is correct for each multiple choice question. Encircle the
number of the chosen answer. You have two options for each multiple choice
question:
(a) Select one answer. If it is correct, then it is worth 1 point, otherwise 0.
(b) You may select 2 answers. If the correct one is among them, then it is worth
1/2 point, otherwise 0. This allows partial credit for multiple choice questions.
Note that by selecting 2 answers you may double your chance to hit the correct
one, but at the price of getting only half of the credit for this question.
Your choice of the answer(s) should be clear and unambigous. If ambiguity
remains for a question, then it will be counted as an unanswered question. The
instructor cannot give any hint during the exam about the answers, so please
refrain from asking such questions. It is an open-notes exam, but no other help
can be used. In particular, no device can be used that has a communicating
capability (laptop, cellphone, etc).

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 Part A : MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1 The reliability of a series configuration

1. is determined by the least reliable component.

2. can be larger than any of the component reliabilities.
3. cannot be larger than the reliability of the least reliable component.
4. is always strictly smaller than the reliability of the most reliable component.
5. is the average of the component reliabilities.

Answer: 3

2
2 We observe that for a component the probability of being operational at some given time
t is the same as at time t + 5. Which of the following is true about potential failures:

1. No failure can occur between t and t + 5.

2. Failure can still occur between t and t + 5, just it is equally likely everywhere in
the [t, t + 5] interval.
3. The given information alone is not sufficient to determine whether failures can
occur in the [t, t + 5] interval.
4. The lifetime of the component cannot be more than t.
5. The lifetime of the component cannot be more than t + 5.
6. None of the above.

Answer: 1
Justification: The probability of being operational at time t is given by the survival
function S(t), since S(t) = 1 − F (t) = Pr(T ≥ t), that is, it is the probability that
the component has not failed before t. In our case the condition says S(t) = S(t + 5).
Therefore, we must also have F (t) = F (t + 5). Since the probability distribution
function F (t) cannot decrease, therefore, it must be constant in the entire [t, t + 5]
interval. (If it were not constant, then at some point in the interval it must differ from
F (t). If it is smaller there than F (t), then it must have decreased from F (t), which is
not possible. If it is larger, then it must decrease again to get back to F (t) = F (t + 5),
which is also not possible.) Thus, F (t) is constant in the entire interval, which implies
that its derivative, the probability density function f (t), must be 0. But that means,
no failure can occur in the interval, since the probablity of failure in an interval is given
by the integral of f (t) over the interval, which is 0 in our case.

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3 In a mixed ILP x is a continuous variable and y is a discrete variable with y ∈ {0, 1}.
We would like to express both of the following conditions via linear constraints: (a) if
y = 0 then x = 0; and (b) if y = 1 then −1 ≤ x ≤ 1. Which of the following does it
correctly:
1. xy = 0, −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
2. x = y = 0 or −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
3. x + y ≥ 0, x − y ≤ 0
4. −1 − y ≤ x + y ≤ 1 − y
5. y(−1 − y) ≤ x ≤ y(1 − y)
6. None of the above.

Answer: 3

4
4 We observe that a component has a survivor function that satisfies 0 < S(t1 ) = S(t2 ) < 1
for some given time instants t1 < t2 . Somebody claims this implies that the hazard
function h(t) must be 0 everywhere in the interval [t1 , t2 ]. Which of the following is
true about this claim:

1. The claim cannot hold in general, since we only have information at the time
instants t1 , t2 , but we do not know anything about what happens between t1 and
t2 .
2. The claim may or may not be true, depending on how S(t) behaves between t1
and t2 .
3. The claim is always true, because S(t) = 1−F (t), and the probability distribution
function F (t) cannot decrease, so S(t) cannot increase. Therefore, S(t1 ) = S(t2 )
implies that S(t) must be constant in the whole [t1 , t2 ] interval, which yields that
h(t) = 0 holds everywhere in the interval, due to h(t) = −S ′ (t)/S(t).
4. If h(t) = 0 for every t ∈ [t1 , t2 ], it means that there is no risk (hazard) of failure
in the interval. Since we know that S(t2 ) < 1, therefore, the operational status
of the component at the end of the interval is not guaranteed, having probability
less than 1. Thus, there must be some risk of failure before the interval ends, so
h(t) = 0 cannot hold in the entire interval, making the claim wrong.

Answer: 3

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5 A network has 3 nodes and there is an undirected link between each pair of nodes. Each
link is operational independently of the others with probability p, 0 < p < 1, while the
nodes are always up. The system is considered operational if the network topology is
connected. Which of the following is true about the reliability configuration:
1. This is a series configuration, because each link should be up to make the system
operational.
2. Since it is enough if two links are up to preserve connectivity, and it is not neces-
sary that all are operational, therefore, this is a parallel configuration.
3. It is a k out of N configuration with k = 2 and N = 3.
4. Since one link has to be operational, and at least one of the other two should
be up, too, therefore, it can be regarded as a combination of series and parallel
configurations.
5. None of the above.

Answer: 3

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6 Consider the reliability of a series configuration with n components and the reliability of
each component is p = 1 − 1/n2 . What happens if n grows very large (n → ∞)?
1. The reliability of the configuration tends to 0.
2. The reliability of the configuration tends to 1.
3. The reliability of the configuration tends to a constant that is strictly between 0
and 1.
4. The reliability of the configuration does not tend to any number, because the
limit does not exist.

Answer: 2
Justification: Since it is a series configuration, we have
¶n
1
µ
R= 1− .
n2
³ ´n2
1
Using that 1 − n2
→ e−1 , it can be reformulated as

¶n ¶n2 1
1 1
µ µ
n 1
R= 1− 2 = 1− 2 ∼ e− n → 1.
n n

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7 Assume that in a Simulated Annealing algorithm the state space consists of all n-
dimensional binary vectors for some fixed n ≥ 2. We want to decide whether the state
space is connected, that is, every vector can be reached from every other via a sequence
of neighbor-to-neighbor moves. Let w(x) denote the number of 1 bits in x (the weight
of x). The binary vectors x, y are defined neighbors if and only if w(x) + w(y) = n
holds. Which of the following is correct with this neighborhood definition?
1. The state space will not be connected for any n ≥ 2.
2. The state space will always be connected for any n ≥ 2.
3. If n ≥ 2, then the state space will be connected for any even n, but not for odd
n.
4. If n ≥ 2, then the state space will be connected for any odd n, but not for even
n.
5. None of the above.

Answer: 1
Justification: Consider the vector x = 0 that contains only 0 bits. Its weight is 0.
It can be a neighbor only of the vector y = 1, which consists of only 1 bits, and its
weight is n, since otherwise the weight sum could not be n. Since no other vector has 0
or n weight, these two vectors are only neighbors of each other, but are not connected
to any other vector. Since for n ≥ 2 the state space contains more than 2 vectors, it
cannot be connected.

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 Part B : PROBLEM SOLVING

8 In a parallel reliability configuration we have n components, connected in parallel,

and each component has reliability p > 0. Let us now change the system by
doubling the number of components and keeping p at the same value. That is, we
use 2n instead of n, but p remains the same. Is it possible that the reliability of
the entire system will also double as a result of this change? Justify your answer!

Solution
If the reliability doubles, then we have

1 − (1 − p)2n = 2[1 − (1 − p)n ].

Let us introduce a new variable x = (1−p)n . With this the above formula becomes

1 − x2 = 2 − 2x.

After rearranging, we get

x2 − 2x + 1 = 0
which is equivalent to
(x − 1)2 = 0.
This can only hold if x = 1, which implies p = 0, since x = (1 − p)n . That,
however, contradicts to the condition p > 0. Thus, we arrived at a contradiction,
so the reliability cannot double.

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9 A company wants to install switches at n sites, at most one at each site. 4 types
of switches are available: Type-1, Type-2, Type-3 and Type-4, each at a cost of
c1 , c2 , c3 and c4 , respectively. There is a restriction, however, that we can use
altogether at most two different types out of the four, that is, the number of
types used in the entire system (not just at a single site) can be at most two. If
a switch is installed at a site, it generates a profit of p1 , p2 , p3 or p4 , respectively,
depending on its type. There is an available budget of C. Formulate as an integer
linear programming problem the following task: find and installation plan that
maximizes the total profit, such that the total cost does not exceed the available
budget, and altogether at most two different types of switches are used in the
entire system.

Solution
Let xij ∈ {0, 1} indicate whether at site i a switch of Type-j installed or not.
Furthermore, let yj indicate if a Type-j switch is used somewhere in the system
or not (j = 1, 2, 3, 4). Then the task can be formulated as
n
X
max (p1 xi1 + p2 xi2 + p3 xi3 + p4 xi4 )
i=1

subject to
n
X
(c1 xi1 + c2 xi2 + c3 xi3 + c4 xi4 ) ≤ C
i=1

xi1 + xi2 + xi3 + xi4 ≤ 1 (∀i)

xij ≤ yj (∀i, j)

y1 + y 2 + y 3 + y 4 ≤ 2

xij , yj ∈ {0, 1} (∀i, j)

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 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

2 Assume the variables x, y occur in a linear programming task. We would like to add the
new constraint |2x| + |3y| ≤ 3 to the LP. Which of the following formulations does it
correctly, given that we must keep the formulation linear:

1. if (x ≥ 0 and y ≥ 0) then 2x + 3y ≤ 3 else −2x − 3y ≤ 3

2. 2x + 3y ≤ 3, −2x − 3y ≤ 3
3. x + y ≤ 3, −x + y ≤ 3, x − y ≤ 3, −x − y ≤ 3
4. 2x + 3y ≤ 3, −2x + 3y ≤ 3, 2x − 3y ≤ 3, −2x − 3y ≤ 3
5. x ≤ 3, y ≤ 3, 2x + 3y ≤ 3
6. x ≤ 3, y ≤ 3, 2x + 3y ≤ 3, −2x − 3y ≤ 3

Correct answer: 4.

2
3 Consider the maximum flow problem from a source node s to a destination node t in a
directed graph. Assume we were able to find a flow that pushes a total of 10 units of
flow through the graph from s to t. (But it may not be a maximum flow.) Which of
the following is correct:

1. If originally each edge has capacity at most 5 and we increase the capacity of each
edge by 1, then the maximum s-t flow will necessarily be at least 12.
2. If we remove all edges from the graph on which the found flow is 0, then the
minimum cut capacity between s and t in the new graph necessarily remains the
same as in the original graph.
3. If there is a cut in the graph that separates s and t, and its capacity is 11, then
the found flow was not maximum.
4. If the found flow is maximum and all edge capacities are integers, then there must
be at least 10 edges that are saturated by the flow, that is, they are filled up to
their capacities.

Correct answer: 1.

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5 Assume a large network with undirected links has minimum cut size 4, that is, it cannot
be disconnected by removing less than 4 links, but it can be disconnected by removing
4 links. We would like to disconnect the network in the following strong sense: we
remove enough links so that the network falls apart into at least 3 components. In
other words, the disconnected network cannot be made connected again by adding a
single link. To achieve this strong disconnection, which of the following is true:

1. It is always enough to remove the links of a minimum cut.

2. It is always enough to remove the links of a minimum cut plus one additional link.
3. It is always enough to remove a number of links that is at most twice the size a
minimum cut.
4. We may have to remove a number of links that can be arbitrarily higher than the
size of a minimum cut.

Correct answer: 4.

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 PROBLEM SOLVING

9 Consider a network with directed links, and each link in this network has 1 Mb/s capacity.
Assume that from a source node s to a terminal node t the network can carry a flow of
20 Mb/s, but not more. Let us call a link critical if it has the following property: if the
link is removed, then the network cannot carry the 20 Mb/s flow from s to t anymore.

a) Is it possible that this network contains less than 20 critical links? Justify your
answer.

Answer: No, it is not possible. Let us consider a maximum flow, which has
value 20 Mb/s, according to the conditions. If we look at a minimum cut which
separates s and t, then, due to the max flow min cut theorem, this cut must have
capacity 20 Mb/s. Since each link has 1 Mb/s capacity, there must be 20 links in
the cut. If we remove any of these links, the capacity of the cut goes down to 19
Mb/s, so it is not possible to send 20 Mb/s flow anymore. Thus, each link in the
minimum cut is critical and there are 20 of them.

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b) Is it possible that this network contains more than 20 critical links? Justify your
answer.

Answer: Yes, it is possible. For example, let the network have 3 nodes: s, a, t.
Define the links in the following way: connect s to a by 20 directed links, each
of capacity 1 Mb/s, and also connect a to t by 20 directed links, each of capacity
1 Mb/s. Then the maximum flow from a to t is 20 Mb/s. The links between s
and a form a minimum cut in which each link is critical. The same is true for the
links that connect a to t. Thus, this network satisfies the conditions and it has
40 critical links.

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9 * Consider an undirected graph, and let λ(a, b) denote the edge connectivity between
any two different nodes a, b.
Let x, y, z be three distinct nodes in the graph. Does the inequality

λ(x, z) ≥ min{λ(x, y), λ(y, z)}

always hold? Justify your answer!

Answer: Yes. Let λ(x, z) = k. Then x and z can be separated by removing k

edges. But this cut must also separate at least one of the source-destination pairs
(x, y), or (y, z). The reason is this: if none of them is separated by this cut, then after
removing the cut, a path would remain connecting x, y, and another path connecting
y, z. Together they would provide connection between x and z, contradicting to the
fact that we removed a cut between (x, z). Thus, at least one of the pairs (x, y) and
(y, z) must be separated by these k edges, so at least one of λ(x, y) and λ(y, z)} must
be ≤ k. This is equivalent to min{λ(x, y), λ(y, z)} ≤ k, which proves the statement,
since k = λ(x, z).

Comment. One may ask here: could it be true that the inequality

λ(x, z) ≥ min{λ(x, y), λ(y, z)}

always holds with equality?

The answer is no. In some cases the inequality may be strict. Consider the following
example. Let the graph contain 5 nodes: x, y, z, a, b. Connect x with a, b, y and connect
z also with a, b, y. Then λ(x, y) = 2, since removing the (x, y) and y, z) edges separates
x and y. Similarly, the removal of the same two edges separates y and z, so λ(y, z) = 2.
(Draw a figure to see it.) On the other hand, λ(x, z) = 3, since there are 3 edge-disjoint
paths between x and z, namely, x − a − z, x − b − z and x − y − z.

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 CS 6385 SAMPLE EXAM ANSWERS

Part A : MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1 The reliability of a parallel configuration

1. is determined by the least reliable component.

2. can be larger than any of the component reliabilities, given that none of them is 1.
3. cannot be larger than the reliability of the most reliable component.
4. always strictly smaller than the reliability of the most reliable component.
5. is the average of the component reliabilities

Correct answer: 2

2 The formula for the network-wide mean delay is T = γ1 li=1 Cif−f , where γ is the total volume
i
P
i
of traffic in the network. Assume we double each link capacity and also double each link flow.
Which of the following describes correctly the resulting change in the value of T ?
fi 2fi
1. Since Ci −fi = 2Ci −2fi holds for every i, therefore, T remains the same.
2. Since by doubling the flow on each link the total traffic volume γ will also double and T is
inversely proportional to γ, therefore, taking into account that the summands fi /(Ci −fi )
preserve their values, T will decrease to half of its original value.
3. The resulting change in T depends on how the flow is distributed in the network, so the
given information is insufficient to determine how much the value will change.
4. None of the above.

Correct answer: 2

3 A step in the Cut Saturation Algorithm is the finding of a saturated cut. Consider now the
following slight modification of the problem. Let us call a cut nearly saturated if it contains
at most one non-saturated link and the rest of the links in the cut are all saturated. Which
of the following statements is true?

1. If the network contains a nearly saturated cut, then the saturated links within this cut
form a saturated cut.
2. If the network contains exactly one saturated cut, then it cannot contain a nearly satu-
rated cut.
3. If there is no nearly saturated cut in the network, then there is at most one saturated
cut.
4. If there is no nearly saturated cut in the network, then there is no saturated cut either.
5. None of the above.

Correct answer: 4

1
4 A network has 3 nodes and there is an undirected link between each pair of nodes. Each link
is operational independently of the others with probability p=0.7. The system is considered
operational if the network topology is connected. Which of the following is true?

1. The reliability of the system is at least 0.4.

2. The reliability of the system is strictly between 0.3 and 0.4.
3. The reliability of the system is less than 0.2.
4. The reliability of the system is at least 0.2, but not more than 0.3.
5. None of the above.

Correct answer: 1

5 In a mixed ILP x is a continuous variable and y is a discrete variable with y ∈ {0, 1}. We would
like to express the following conditions via linear constraints:
• if y = 0 then also x = 0
• if y = 1 then a ≤ x ≤ b for some given constants 0 < a < b.
Which of the following does it correctly:
1. xy = 0, a≤x≤b
2. x = y = 0 or a ≤ x ≤ b
3. a − y ≤ x + y ≤ b − y
4. y(a − y) ≤ x ≤ y(b − y)
5. ay ≤ x ≤ by
6. None of the above.

Correct answer: 5

6 Consider the reliability of a series configuration with n components and the reliability of each
√
component is p = 1 − 1/(n + n). What happens if n grows very large (n → ∞)?

1. The reliability of the configuration tends to 0.

2. The reliability of the configuration tends to 1.
3. The reliability of the configuration tends to a constant that is strictly between 0 and 1.
4. The reliability of the configuration does not tend to any number, because the limit does
not exist.

Correct answer: 3

7 Assume that in a Tabu Search algorithm we define the neighborhood of an n-dimensional binary
vector as follows. Let w(x) denote the number of 1 bits in x (the weight of x). The binary
vectors x, y are defined neighbors if and only if |w(x) − w(y)| ≥ 2 holds. Which of the
following is correct?

1. The state space will not be connected for any n, because by the above definition neighbors
differ in at least 2 bits, so one cannot reach a vector that differs from the current one in
only one bit.

2
 2. The state space will always be connected for any n ≥ 2.
3. If n ≥ 3, then any vector x which has at least 3 bits with value 1 has the zero vector
among its neighbors.
4. None of the above.

Correct answer: 3

Part B : PROBLEM SOLVING

8 In an integer linear programming problem we have n variables, denoted by x1 , x2 , . . . , xn .

Each variable can only take the value 0 or 1. Express each of the following conditions
by a linear formulation:
a) At least one variable must take the value 0.
Answer:
This means, they cannot be all 1, so their sum is at most n − 1:

x1 + x2 + . . . + xn ≤ n − 1
or

x1 + x2 + . . . + xn < n
b) At most one variable can take the value 0.
Answer:
This means, at least n − 1 of them is 1, so their sum is at least n − 1:

x1 + x2 + . . . + xn ≥ n − 1
c) Either all variables are 0, or none of them.
Answer:
This means, they all must be equal:

x1 = x2 = . . . = xn
or

x1 = x2
x2 = x3
..
.
xn−1 = xn
9 Consider the Concentrator Location Problem with the following modification: the cost
of placing a concentrator at a site is charged only when the site serves more than 5
terminals. For those sites that serve at most 5 terminals the cost is waived. Let us
assume that the capacity k of a concentrator satisfies k > 5. Provide a modification
of the original Concentrator Location Problem formulation to cover this modified case.
The formulation should preserve the linearity of the original formulation, that is, you
cannot add any case separation, like ”if ... then ...”, or any other nonlinear formulation.
Justify your solution and explain the meaning of every variable and constraint.

3
Answer:
For reference, here is the original formulation of the Concentrator Location Problem.
(In an exam it does not have to be included, we just include it here for handy reference.)
Variables:

(
1 if terminal i is connected to site j
xij =
0 otherwise

(
1 if a concentrator is placed at site j
yj =
0 otherwise

Optimization task:
n X
X m m
X
min Z = cij xij + d j yj .
i=1 j=1 j=1

Subject to
n
X
xij ≤ kyj (∀j)
i=1
Xm
xij = 1 (∀i)
j=1
xij , yj ∈ {0, 1} (∀i, j)

Note: The above formulation is just for reference, the actual solution follows below.

To obtain the required modification, it is enough to add 5 to the righthand side of the
first constraint and changing the meaning of yj accordingly: now yj will be 1 only if
more than 5 terminals are served by the concentrator. Those that serve at most 5 are
free. We also replace the coefficient of y in this constraint by k − 5, to maintain that a
maximum of k terminals can be served by a concentrator (otherwise it would grow to
k + 5).
Variables:

(
1 if terminal i is connected to site j
xij =
0 otherwise

(
1 if a concentrator is placed at site j and it serves more than 5 terminals
yj =
0 otherwise

Thus, the optimization task is:

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 n X
X m m
X
min Z = cij xij + d j yj .
i=1 j=1 j=1

Subject to
n
X
xij ≤ (k − 5)yj + 5 (∀j)
i=1
Xm
xij = 1 (∀i)
j=1
xij , yj ∈ {0, 1} (∀i, j)