Chapter 20 - 1

20

Minimal Spanning Tree

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Consider a minimal spanning tree problem in which pipe must be laid to connect sprinklers on a golf
course. When represented with a network,
a. the pipes are the arcs and the sprinklers are the nodes.
b. the pipes are the nodes and the sprinklers are the arcs.
c. the pipes and the sprinklers are the tree.
d. each sprinkler must be connected to every other sprinkler.
ANSWER: a
TOPIC: The minimal spanning tree problem

2. The minimal spanning tree algorithm is considered to be:

a. a greedy algorithm.
b. an arc algorithm.
c. a non-optimal algorithm.
d. a non-feasible algorithm.
ANSWER: a
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

3. The minimal spanning tree algorithm has connected nodes 8 and 9. Node 8 could be connected to nodes 11
(distance 6) and 12 (distance 5) and node 9 could be connected to node 12 (distance 3) and node 13
(distance 2). Which will you do next?
a. connect 8 to 11
b. connect 8 to 12
c. connect 9 to 12
d. connect 9 to 13
ANSWER: d
TOPIC: A minimum spanning tree algorithm

4. For a network consisting of N nodes, a minimal spanning tree will consist of:
a. N  2 arcs.
b. N  1 arcs.
c. N arcs.
d. N + 1 arcs.
ANSWER: b
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

5. The minimal spanning tree algorithm will:

a. sometimes fail to produce a feasible solution.
b. always produce a feasible, but not necessarily optimal, solution.
c. always produce an optimal solution.
d. always produce an optimal, but not necessarily feasible, solution.
 Chapter 20 - 2

ANSWER: c
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

TRUE/FALSE

1. The arcs in a minimal spanning tree problem can be measured in terms of criteria other than distance.
ANSWER: True
TOPIC: The minimal spanning tree problem

2. Cases in which a greedy algorithm provides the optimal solution are rare.
ANSWER: True
TOPIC: The minimal spanning tree problem

3. The minimum spanning tree allows a person to visit every node without backtracking.
ANSWER: False
TOPIC: The minimum spanning tree problem

4. In the minimal spanning tree algorithm, you must consider the unconnected nodes that can be reached from
any of the connected nodes, rather than arbitrarily considering only one of the connected nodes.
ANSWER: True
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

5. The minimum spanning tree algorithm is considered a heuristic.

ANSWER: False
TOPIC: The minimum spanning tree problem

6. The minimal spanning tree algorithm will lead to an optimal solution regardless of which node is chosen at
the start of the algorithm.
ANSWER: True
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

7. It is possible for minimal spanning tree problems to have alternative optimal solutions.
ANSWER: True
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

SHORT ANSWER

1. What is a greedy algorithm? What is an example of a greedy algorithm?

TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

2. What are some other criteria (measures), besides distance, that might be minimized in a minimal spanning
tree problem? Provide an example situation for each criterion.
TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

PROBLEMS

1. For the following eight cities with the given distances, find the minimal spanning tree path.
 Chapter 20 - 3

To City
From City 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 -- 5 2 6 -- -- --
2 5 -- -- 4 6 -- --
3 2 -- -- 3 -- 12 --
4 6 4 3 -- 9 8 --
5 -- 6 -- 9 -- 0 14
6 -- -- 12 8 0 -- 4
7 -- -- -- -- 14 4 --

TOPIC: Minimal spanning tree

2. Find the minimal spanning tree for this network.

12 3 8
2 6
10 4
10 3
5
4
1 7
15 3 16

TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

3. Find the minimal spanning tree for this network.

4 4
2
6
10 8 3
1 4 7
5
12 7 3

3 9
6

TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

4. The numbers on this network represent times to distribute a message. Use the minimal spanning tree
algorithm to determine how messages should be passed in order to minimize total time.
 Chapter 20 - 4

50 20
3 4 5
30
15
30 6
2 25 80

20 7
10 100

1
25
8

TOPIC: A minimal spanning tree algorithm

SOLUTIONS

1. 1-3-4-2-5-6-7

2.
3
2 6
10 4 5
10 3

4
1 7
3

3.
4 4
2
10
3
1 4
5 7
7
3
3 6
 Chapter 20 - 5

4.
20
3 4 5
30
15
30
6
2

20 7
10

1
25