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http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/
MCM: The Mathematical Contest in Modeling
ICM: The Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling
2007 Contest Problems
MCM PROBLEMS
PROBLEM A: Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of some number (currently 435) of individuals who are elected from each state in proportion to the state’s population relative to that of the country as a whole. While this provides a way of determining how many representatives each state will have, it says nothing about how the district represented by a particular representative shall be determined geographically. This oversight has led to egregious (at least some people think so, usually not the incumbent) district shapes that look “unnatural” by some standards. Hence the following question: Suppose you were given the opportunity to draw congressional districts for a state. How would you do so as a purely “baseline” exercise to create the “simplest” shapes for all the districts in a state? The rules include only that each district in the state must contain the same population. The definition of “simple” is up to you; but you need to make a convincing argument to voters in the state that your solution is fair. As an application of your method, draw geographically simple congressional districts for the state of New York.
PROBLEM B: The Airplane Seating Problem
Airlines are free to seat passengers waiting to board an aircraft in any order whatsoever. It has become customary to seat passengers with special needs first, followed by first-class passengers (who sit at the front of the plane). Then coach and business-class passengers are seated by groups of rows, beginning with the row at the back of the plane and proceeding forward.
Apart from consideration of the passengers’ wait time, from the airline’s point of view, time is money, and boarding time is best minimized. The plane makes money for the airline only when it is in motion, and long boarding times limit the number of trips that a plane can make in a day.
The development of larger planes, such as the Airbus A380 (800 passengers), accentuate the problem of minimizing boarding (and deboarding) time.
Devise and compare procedures for boarding and deboarding planes with varying numbers of passengers: small (85–21), midsize (210–330), and large (450–800).
Prepare an executive summary, not to exceed two single-spaced pages, in which you set out your conclusions to an audience of airline executives, gate agents, and flight crews.
An article appeared in the NY Times Nov 14, 2006 addressing procedures currently being followed and the importance to the airline of finding better solutions. The article can be seen at: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/business/14boarding.html
ICM PROBLEM PROBLEM C: Organ Transplant: The Kidney Exchange Problem Click the Title Below To View a PDF of Problem C Organ Transplant: The Kidney Exchange Problem © 2007 COMAP, The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications
May be reproduced for academic/research purposes
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[此贴子已经被作者于2007-2-9 9:06:22编辑过] | 
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