Course Introduction
Operations Research
Textbook Exam Questions
Operations Research is a discipline that applies advanced analytical methods to aid decision-making and solve complex problems in organizations. It integrates mathematical modeling, statistics, and optimization techniques to evaluate and improve processes in various fields such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics, and service operations. Key topics include linear programming, network models, queuing theory, simulation, and decision analysis, all aimed at enhancing efficiency, resource allocation, and strategic planning in real-world scenarios.
Recommended Textbook
Practical Management Science 6th Edition by Wayne L. Winston
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421 Verified Questions
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2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Modeling
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Q1) The most frequent cause of a failed implementation of a model is:
A) the model is incorrect
B) the analyst fails to communicate how to use the model
C) the data for the model is unavailable
D) the model is too complex
Answer: B
Q2) The best strategy for implementation of a model is to involve key people in the organization in the project when the model is ready for testing and verification.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Management science has often been taught as a collection of:
A) theories
B) problems
C) models
D) topics
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Introduction to Spreadsheet Modeling
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not one of the features that can improve the readability of a spreadsheet model
A) Formatting features
B) Data tables
C) Cell comments
D) Text Boxes
Answer: B
Q2) In general,any cash flow occurring at the beginning of the first time period must be placed outside the NPV function.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The HLOOKUP function works exactly the same as the VLOOKUP function,except the lookup table is arranged in columns instead of rows.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Introduction to Optimization Modeling
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Sample Questions
Q1) Refer to Exhibit 3-2.An advertising agency has devised a marketing plan for the Western Chassis Company that will increase the market for Deluxe chassis.The plan will increase demand by 75 Deluxe chassis per month at a cost of $100 per month.Should Western adopt the plan
Briefly explain why.
Answer: The change in the profit would be $1.8/hour shadow price times 75 hours,or $135,so Valley should adopt the plan.
Q2) The equation of the line representing the constraint 4x<sub>1</sub>+ 2x<sub>2</sub> 100 passes through the points:
A) (25,0) and (0,50)
B) (0,25) and (50,0)
C) ( 25,0) and (0, 50)
D) (0, 25) and ( 50,0)
Answer: A
Q3) [Part 2] Refer to Exhibit 3-1.Using the graphical solution method,find an optimal solution to the model in Part 1 and determine the maximum profit.
Answer: The optimal solution is (x<sub>1</sub>,x<sub>2</sub>)= (175,275),and the maximum profit is $2,225.
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Chapter 4: Linear Programming Models
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Q1) [Part 2] Refer to Exhibit 4-3.What happens to the revenue when the optimal plan changes to the one given in Part 1
Q2) When a workforce scheduling problem is formulated as an integer programming model,it has:
A) an integer objective function
B) integer technological coefficients
C) integer constraints
D) all of these options
Q3) Aggregate planning models usually relate a beginning value in one period to an ending value from the previous period.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If we round the optimal values in the changing cells of a linear programming model,this is a good approximation of the integer programming solution.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 4-3.Determine the optimal processing plan for the meat market.
Q6) Refer to Exhibit 4-2.Determine the optimal staffing plan for the project.
Q7) Refer to Exhibit 4-1.Use Solver to formulate and solve the hospital's problem.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Network Models
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Q1) The flow balance constraint for each transshipment node in a network flow model has the form Flow in = Flow out.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The network model representation of the transportation problem has the following advantage relative to the special case of a simple transportation model:
A) it does not require capacity restrictions on the arcs of the network
B) the flows in the network model don't all necessarily have to be from supply locations to demand locations
C) a network model representation is generally easier to formulate and solve
D) All of these options
Q3) In network models of transportation problems,arcs represent the routes for getting a product from one node to another.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Refer to Exhibit 5-1.Formulate (write out algebraically)an LP transportation model to help Sinclair minimize its shipping costs.
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Chapter 6: Optimization Models With Integer Variables
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Q1) Fixed costs imply that the divisibility assumption of linear models no longer holds.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The default integer optimality setting in Solver is:
A) 0.1%
B) 0.5%
C) 1%
D) 5%
Q3) Optimization software,including Solver,typically has more difficulty solving an integer programming problem,relative to a linear programming problem.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In a linear model,the target cell and constraints are ultimately:
A) a product of changing cells
B) a sum of products of changing cells
C) a product of constants and changing cells
D) a sum of products of constants and changing cells
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 6-2.What is Sinclair's optimal shipping plan What is the total cost in that case
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Chapter 7: Nonlinear Optimization Models
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Q1) As an objective,minimizing the sum of squared errors is equivalent to minimizing the A) root mean square error
B) weighted sum of squared errors
C) sum of absolute errors
D) maximum absolute error
Q2) Solver can get stuck at a global optimum and never find the local optimum.
A)True
B)False
Q3) [Part 2] Refer to Exhibit 7-3.Formulate a nonlinear optimization model to find the parameters of a function of the form: f(x)= a(1 e bx)to model demand for its product as a function of ad exposures (x).In terms of fit,is this model better or worse than the model in Part 1
Explain your answer
Q4) In pricing models,elasticity of demand is an input with specifies the:
A) range of demand
B) level of demand
C) sensitivity of price to changes in demand
D) sensitivity of demand to changes in price
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Evolutionary Solver: An Alternative Optimization
Procedure
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Q1) Combinatorial problems have only a finite number of feasible solutions.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The number of possible paths in a shortest path problem with n locations is:
A) n
B) n 1
C) n<sup>2</sup>
D) n!
Q3) Evolutionary Solver works best when constraints are applied as:
A) penalties
B) shortages
C) capacities
D) targets
Q4) Refer to Exhibit 8-2.What is the fewest number of breaks that are needed to air all eight of the commercials
Q5) Crossovers are rare as a genetic algorithm is generating chromosomes for the next generations.
A)True B)False
Q6) Refer to Exhibit 8-1.This is an example of what type of optimization problem Page 10
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Chapter 9: Decision Making Under Uncertainty
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Q1) Refer to Exhibit 9-1.Find the highest cost of insulating the grapefruits for which the farmer prefers to insulate his crop.
Q2) The strategy region graph is a type of sensitivity analysis chart that:
A) is useful in determining whether the optimal decision changes over the range of the input variable.
B) ranks the sensitivity of the EMV to the input variables.
C) reflects how the value of information changes over a range of probabilities.
D) None of these
Q3) For each possible decision and each possible outcome,the payoff table lists the associated monetary value.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The expected value of perfect information (EVPI)is a largely irrelevant concept since perfect information is almost never available at any price.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 9-2.Should the credit union purchase the report if it costs $150
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Page 12
Chapter 10: Introduction to Simulation Modeling
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Q1) One of the primary advantages of simulation models that they enable managers to answer what-if questions about changes in systems without actually changing the systems themselves.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Refer to Exhibit 10-1.Company management currently has no idea what the distribution of the construction cost is.All they can state is that "we think it will be somewhere between $5,000,000 and $8,000,000."
Q3) Refer to Exhibit 10-1.A little later on,management still believes the upper and lower bounds for the costs are $5M and $8M,but now they can also state that "we believe the most likely value is about $6.5M."
Q4) Refer to Exhibit 10-1.Management believes the facility construction time will be somewhere from 5 to 9 months.They believe the probabilities of the extremes (5 and 9 months)are both 10%,and the probabilities will vary linearly from those endpoints to a most likely value at 7 months.
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 10-2.Use @RISK distributions to generate the three random variables for regional sales and derive a distribution for the total sales.What is the expected total sales
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Chapter 11: Simulation Models
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Q1) Value at risk (VAR)is an indicator of:
A) how much to bid for a project
B) the expected amount of loss for a project
C) what is nearly the worst possible outcome for a project
D) the required amount of investment required for a project
Q2) Which of the following is typically not an application of simulation models
A) Operations models
B) Financial models
C) Marketing models
D) All of the above are applications of simulation models
Q3) [Part 6] Refer to Exhibit 11-1.Given your answers to Parts 1 through 5,would you invest in this project
Q4) Which of the following functions is not an @RISK statistical function
A) RISKMIN
B) RISKMAX
C) RISKPERCENTILE
D) RISKSIMTABLE
Q5) [Part 4] Refer to Exhibit 11-2.Are there any simulations which indicated there was a chance of getting negative NPV
Briefly explain in one sentence.
Page 14
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Chapter 12: Queueing Models
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Q1) Refer to Exhibit 12-3.What is the average length of time (in hours)spent waiting in line
Q2) Congestion in a queuing system will be unaffected by changes in the variability of the interarrival time and service time distributions,as long as the distributions retain the same means.
A)True B)False
Q3) Refer to Exhibit 12-2.What is the server utilization
Q4) In an Erlang loss model,customers who arrive when all servers are busy are lost to the system.
A)True B)False
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 12-4.Use the M/M/s template to find the expected number of busy servers,and the expected fraction of time each server is busy
Q6) Refer to Exhibit 12-3.What is the average length of the waiting line
Q7) The mean and standard deviation of an exponential distribution are both equal to the parameter .
A)True B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 13: Regression and Forecasting Models
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Q1) Refer to Exhibit 13-3.Use simple exponential smoothing to forecast these data,requesting 4 quarters of future forecasts.Use the default smoothing constant of 0.10.Is this better than the moving average model
Q2) The term autocorrelation refers to:
A) the analyzed data refers to itself
B) the sample is related too closely to the population
C) the data are in a loop (values repeat themselves)
D) time series variables are usually related to their own past values
Q3) A time series can consist of four different components: trend,seasonal,cyclical,and random (or noise).
A)True
B)False
Q4) The smoothing constant used in simple exponential smoothing is analogous to the span in moving averages.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Refer to Exhibit 13-3.Obtain a simple exponential smoothing forecast again,this time optimizing the smoothing constant.Does it make much of an improvement
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Chapter 14: Data Mining
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Q1) Which of the following is false regarding neural networks
A) They attempt to mimic the complex behavior of the human brain.
B) They are synonymous with data mining.
C) They can be used to predict the value of a numeric dependent variable.
D) They do not provide an understanding of the contributions of individual explanatory variables.
Q2) Business analytics,while important,is only a part of the area of data mining.
A)True
B)False
Q3) See Exhibit 14.1 - How likely would a 40 year old,200 pound father of 2 children be to have the illness
Q4) Which of the following is not a classification method
A) Naive Bayes
B) Logistic regression
C) ROC curves
D) Neural networks
Q5) When classifying rare events,it is inadvisable to oversample.
A)True
B)False
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