AQA D2 2007 January — Question 5

Exam BoardAQA
ModuleD2 (Decision Mathematics 2)
Year2007
SessionJanuary
TopicDynamic Programming

5 A three-day journey is to be made from \(S\) to \(T\), with overnight stops at the end of the first day at either \(A\) or \(B\) and at the end of the second day at one of the locations \(C , D\) or \(E\). The network shows the number of hours of sunshine forecast for each day of the journey.
\includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{be283950-ef4c-482f-94cb-bdb3def9ff6d-05_753_1284_479_386} The optimal route, known as the maximin route, is that for which the least number of hours of sunshine during a day's journey is as large as possible.
  1. Explain why the three-day route \(S A E T\) is better than \(S A C T\).
  2. Use dynamic programming to find the optimal (maximin) three-day route from \(S\) to \(T\). (8 marks)