1.what is operations research?

“Operations Research is the application of scientific

methods to complex problems arising from
operations involving large systems of men,
machines, materials and money in industry,
business government and defence.”

2. State any four applications of operations

research?
(a)Assignment of jobs to applicants to maximize
total profit or minimize total costs.
(b)Replacement techniques are used to replace the
old machines by new ones.
©Inventory control techniques are used in
industries to purchase optimum quantity of raw
materials.
(d)Before executing a project, activities are
sequenced and scheduled using PERT chart.
3.Define a feasible solution?
Any solution to a LPP which satisfied the non-negativity
restrictions of the LPP is called its feasible solution.
4.Define optimal solution?
Any feasible solution which optimises (minimizes or
minimizes)the objective function is called its optimal solution.
5.Define degenerate solution?
A basic feasible solution is said to be degenerate if one or
more basic variables are zero.
6.Define unbounded solution?
If the value of the objective function Z can be increased or
decreased indefinitely. Such solutions are called unbounded
solutions.
7.What are limitations of LPP?
1.For larger problems having many limitations and constraints,
the computational difficulties are enormous even when
computer are used.
2.Many times it is not possible to express both the objective
function and constraints in linear form.
 3.The solution variables may have any values. Some times the
solution variables are restricted to take only integer values.
4. This method does not take into account the effect of time
8.What do you understand by transportation problem?
T.P is a special class of Linear Programming Problem in which
we transport a commodity(single product) from the source to
a destination in such a way that the total transportation cost
is minimum.
9.Define the optimal solution to a T.P?
The basic feasible solution to a T.P is said to be optimal if the
minimises the total transportation cost.
10.what do you mean by degeneracy in a T.P.?
If the number of occupied cells in a m X n T.P. is less than m
+ n - 1, then it is called a degeneracy in a T.P.
11.What do you mean by a project?
A project is defied as a combination of inter-related activities
all of which must be executed in a certain order for its
completion.
12.What are the two basic planning and control techniques in a
network analysis?
(I) Programme Evaluation Review Technique(PERT)
(ii)Critical Path Method.
13.What re the three main phases of a project?
The three phases of a project are planning, scheduling and
control.
14.What is a network?
It is the graphic representation of logically and sequentially
connected arrows and nodes representing activities and
events of a project.
15.What do you mean by an activity of a project?
An activity represents some action and as such is a time
consuming effort necessary to complete a particular part of
the overall project.
16.What is a dummy activity and when it is needed?
Certain activities which neither consumes time nor resources
but are used simply to represent a connection between
events are known as dummies. When two activities have the
same head and tail events, this cannot be represented in
network diagram without using dummy activity.
17.What are the three types of floats?
The three types of floats are (1) Total float (2)Free float (3)
Independent float.
18.Define total float.
The amount of time by which the completion of an activity
could delalyed beyond the earliest expected completion time
without affectring overall project duration time is called total
19.Define critical activity?
An activity is said to be critical if a delay in its start will cause
a further delay in the completion of the entire project.
20.What is the critical path?
The sequence of critical activities in a network is called the
critical path.
21.If the total float of an activity the latest and the earliest
occurrence of the events 3 and 4 are 15,12 and 22, 10
respectively. What is free float?
FF = TF -Head event slack
22.What is the independent float of the activity?
IF = FF - Tail event slack
23.Define the expected variance of a project length?
The expected variance of a project length also called the
variance of the critical path, is the sum of the variances of all
the critical activities.
24.Define a queue?
The flow of customers from finite/infinite population towards
service facility is called a queue (waiting line).
25.Define a customer?
The arriving unit that requires some service to be performed
is called a customer.
26.Define the following;
1.Banking: A condition in which a customer may leave the
queue because the queue is too long and he has no time to
wait or there is insufficient waiting space.
2.Reneging : This occurs when a waiting customer leaves
the queue due to impatience.
3.Jockeying: Customers may jockey from one waiting line
to another.
27.Define transient and steady state?
A system is said to be in a transient state when its operating
characteristics are dependent on time.
When the operating characteristics of a system are
independent of time, it is called a steady state.
28.Define traffic intensity of utilization factor?
An important measure of a simple queue is its traffic
intensity given by

p= mean arrival rate = λ

mean service rate µ
29.Explain the Kendall’s notation?
Kendall’s notation is used for representing queuing models.
Generally queuing model may be completely specified in the
following symbol form (a/b/c);(d/e)
a- inter-arrival time (arrival pattern)
b- service pattern
c-number of channels
d-capacity of the system
e-queue discipline
30.Define a game?
The comparitive situation will be calle4d a game, if it has the
following properties;
1.There is a finite number of participants called players.
2.Each player has a finite number of strategies available
to him.
3.Every game results in an outcome.
31. Define strategy?
The strategy of a player is the decision rule he uses for
making the choice from his list of courses of action.
32.Define a saddle point?
A saddle point is the position in the pay off matrix, where the
maximum of row minima coincides with minimum of column
maxima.
33.Define two-person zero sum game?
A game with two players, where a gain of one player equals
the loss of the other is known as a two-person zero sum game.
34.Distinguish between Pure and Mixed strategies?
1. A strategy is called pure, if one knows in advance of the
play that it is certain to be adopted irrespective of the strategy
the other may choose. The optimal strategy mixture of each
player may be determine by assigning to each strategy its
probability of being chose. These strategies are called mixed
strategy.
2. A pure strategy is a special case4 of mixed strategy. A
player may be able to choose only n pure strategies, where as
he had infinite number of mixed strategies.
35.Define payoff?
The gains resulting from a game is called payoff, and when it is
presented in the form of a table it is called payoff matrix.
36.Define value of the game?
The value of the game is defined as the expected gain to a
player.
37.What is meant by minimax, maximin?
Minimax is maximum of row minima, and maximin is minimum of
column maxima.
38.When is the game fair?
A game is fair if minimax value=maximin value=0
39.Define simulation. Why is it used?
The representation of reality in some physical form or in some
form of mathematical equations may be called as simulation, I.e,
simulation is imitation of reality. This is used because one is
satisfied with suboptimal results for decision making and also
representation by a mathematical model is beyond the
capabilities of the analyst.
40.Define random number?
Random number is a number whose probability of occurrence is
the same as that of any other number in the collection.
41.Explain Monte-Carlo technique
It is a simulation technique in which statistical distribution
functions are created by using a series of random numbers. This
is generally used to solve problems which cannot be adequately
represented by the mathematical models
42.What are the advantages of simulation?
The advantages of simulation are
1.mathematically less complicated
2.flexible
3.modified to suit the changing environments of the real situation
4.can be used for training purposes
43.What are the limitations of simulation?
1.quantification of the variables may be difficult.
2.simulation may not yield optimum results.
3.simulation may not always be cheap.
4.simulation may not always be less time consuming.
5.the results obtained from simulation models cannot be
completely relied upon
44.What do you mean unbalanced T.P.?
Any T.P. is said to be unbalanced if
m n
∑ai ≠ ∑bj
i=1 j=1
45.What do you mean by a general LPP?
The general LPP is given by
Max or Min Z=C 1 X1 +C2 X2 +………..C n Xn
… (1)
Subjected to a11 X1 + a12 X2 + ………..a1n X n(≤ = ≥)b1
a21 X1 + a22 X2 +………..a 2n Xn(≤ = ≥)b2
.
….(2) .
a m1 X1 + am2 X2 +………..amn Xn (≤ = ≥)bm

x1,x2……..xn ≥ 0
….(3)
46.Define pseudo-random number?
Random numbers are called Pseudo –random numbers when
they are generated by some deterministic process and they qualify
the predetermined statistical test for randomness.
* Transportation problem Assignment problem

1 Number of sources and Number of sources and number of

number of destinations need destinations are equal
not be equal.

2 Cost matrix need not a Cost matrix must be square matrix

square matrix

3 There is no restrictions on There is necessarily only one

number of allotments in any allotment in each row and column
row(column)

4. Optimal solution involves at Optimal solution involves always m

most m+n-1 allotments or n allotments

5 Problem is unbalanced if Problem is unbalanced if it is not a

∑ ai ≠ ∑ bj
square matrix
48.Difference between CPM and PERT

Critical path Program Evaluation

method Review Technique

i) Activity oriented Event oriented

ii) Deterministic probabilistic

iii) Time is fixed Three time estimates

namely optimistic,
pessimistic, most likely
iv) No limitation of are given such as
Resources
resources labour, equipments,
materials are limited