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Problem Set 10

This document outlines 7 problems related to data structures and algorithms. Problem 1 asks to count the number of simple paths between two vertices in a directed acyclic graph. Problem 2 asks to create a graph with the same strongly connected components and component graph as the input graph using the fewest possible edges. Problem 3 formulates checking properties of one-way streets in a city as graph problems checkable in linear time.

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73 views2 pages

Problem Set 10

This document outlines 7 problems related to data structures and algorithms. Problem 1 asks to count the number of simple paths between two vertices in a directed acyclic graph. Problem 2 asks to create a graph with the same strongly connected components and component graph as the input graph using the fewest possible edges. Problem 3 formulates checking properties of one-way streets in a city as graph problems checkable in linear time.

Uploaded by

ke Qin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Problem Set 10

Data Structures and Algorithms, Fall 2021

Due: December 9, in class.

Problem 1
Given a directed acyclic graph G = (V, E) and two vertices s and t in V , devise an algorithm that
returns the number of simple paths from s to t in G. (Your algorithm needs only to count the simple
paths, not list them.) You need to give the pseudocode of your algorithm, and your algorithm should
have runtime O(|V | + |E|).

Problem 2
Given a directed graph G = (V, E), devise an algorithm to create another graph G′ = (V, E ′ ) such that:
(a) G′ has the same strongly connected components as G, (b) G′ has the same component graph as G,
and (c) E ′ is as small as possible. Your algorithm needs to return G′ and have runtime O(|V | + |E|).
You also need to give the pseudocode of your algorithm.

Problem 3
The police department in the city of Computopia has made all streets one-way. The mayor claims there
is still a way to drive legally from any intersection in the city to any other intersection, but the opposition
is not convinced. A computer program is needed to determine whether the mayor is right. However, the
city elections are coming up soon, and there is just enough time to run a linear-time algorithm.
(a) Formulate this problem graph-theoretically, and explain why it can be solved in linear time.
(b) Suppose it now turns out that the mayor’s original claim is false. She next claims something weaker:
if you start driving from town hall, navigating one-way streets, then no matter where you reach, there is
always a way to drive legally back to the town hall. Formulate this weaker property as a graph-theoretic
problem, and show how it too can be checked in linear time.

Problem 4
In the 2SAT problem, you are given a set of clauses, where each clause is the disjunction (OR) of two
literals (a literal is a Boolean variable or the negation of a Boolean variable). You are looking for a way
to assign a value true or false to each of the variables so that all clauses are satisfied — that is, there
is at least one true literal in each clause. For example, here’s an instance of 2SAT:

(x1 ∨ x2 ) ∧ (x1 ∨ x3 ) ∧ (x1 ∨ x2 ) ∧ (x3 ∨ x4 ) ∧ (x1 ∨ x4 )

This instance has a satisfying assignment: set x1 , x2 , x3 , and x4 to true, false, false, and true,
respectively. The purpose of this problem is to lead you to a way of solving 2SAT efficiently by reducing
it to the problem of finding the strongly connected components of a directed graph. Given an instance I
of 2SAT with n variables and m clauses, construct a directed graph GI = (V, E) as follows.

1
• GI has 2n nodes, one for each variable and its negation.
• GI has 2m edges: for each clause (α ∨ β) of I (where α, β are literals), GI has an edge from the
negation of α to β, and one from the negation of β to α.
(a) Carry out this construction for the instance of 2SAT given above.
(b) Show that if GI has a strongly connected component containing both x and x for some variable x,
then I has no satisfying assignment.
(c) Now show the converse of (b): if none of GI ’s strongly connected components contain both a literal
and its negation, then the instance I must be satisfiable.
(d) Describe a linear-time (that is, O(n + m) time) algorithm for solving 2SAT.

Problem 5
(a) Prove that if all its edge weights of an undirected graph G are distinct, then G has a unique minimum
spanning tree.
(b) Describe an edge-weighted undirected graph that has a unique minimum spanning tree, even though
two edges have equal weights.
(c) Prove or disprove: The minimum spanning tree of an undirected graph G includes the minimum-
weight edge in every cycle in G.

Problem 6
A feedback edge set of an undirected graph G is a subset F of the edges such that every cycle in G
contains at least one edge in F . In other words, removing every edge in F makes the graph G acyclic.
Describe and analyze a fast algorithm to compute the minimum-weight feedback edge set of a given
edge-weighted graph. (Hint: how to compute a maximum spanning tree?)

Problem 7
Suppose we are given both an undirected graph G = (V, E) with weighted edges and a minimum
spanning tree T = (V, E ′ ) of G.
(a) Describe an algorithm to update the minimum spanning tree when the weight of a single edge e ∈ E
is decreased. Remember to analyze the runtime of your algorithm.
(b) Describe an algorithm to update the minimum spanning tree when the weight of a single edge e ∈ E
is increased. Remember to analyze the runtime of your algorithm.
In both cases, the input to your algorithm is the edge e and its new weight. Your algorithms should
modify T so that it is still a minimum spanning tree. You should make your algorithm as fast as possible.
(Hint: Consider the cases e ∈ E ′ and e ∈ / E ′ separately.)

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