What you will study
What codes are used by spacecraft in communicating with Earth? Where do you brace a framework to make it rigid? How many colours are needed for a map to ensure that neighbouring countries have different colours? How can you assign people to jobs for which they are qualified? These are some of the questions to be answered in the module. The problems range from those arising in technology, operational research and the sciences to puzzles of a recreational nature. We show the connections between problems in widely differing areas and describe methods for their solution that use the properties they have in common.
The material is presented in a down-to-earth manner, with the emphasis on solving problems and applying algorithms, rather than on abstract ideas and proofs.
The module is divided into three related areas: graphs, networks and design. The Introduction introduces two themes of the module, combinatorics and mathematical modelling, and illustrates them with examples from the three areas.
Graphs 1: Graphs and digraphs discusses graphs and digraphs in general, and describes the use of graph theory in genetics, ecology and music, and of digraphs in the social sciences. We discuss Eulerian and Hamiltonian graphs and related problems; one of these is the well-known Königsberg bridges problem.
Networks 1: Network flows is concerned with the problem of finding the maximum amount of a commodity (gas, water, passengers) that can pass between two points of a network in a given time. We give an algorithm for solving this problem, and discuss important variations that frequently arise in practice.
Design 1: Geometric design, concerned with geometric configurations, discusses two-dimensional patterns such as tiling patterns, and the construction and properties of regular and semi-regular tilings, and of polyominoes and polyhedra.
Graphs 2: Trees Trees are graphs occurring in areas such as branching processes, decision procedures and the representation of molecules. After discussing their mathematical properties we look at their applications, such as the minimum connector problem and the travelling salesman problem.
Networks 2: Optimal paths How does an engineering manager plan a complex project encompassing many activities? This application of graph theory is called ‘critical path planning’. It is one of the class of problems in which the shortest or longest paths in a graph or digraph must be found.
Design 2: Kinematic design The mechanical design of table lamps, robot manipulators, car suspension systems, space-frame structures and other artefacts depends on the interconnection of systems of rigid bodies. This unit discusses the contribution of combinatorial ideas to this area of engineering design.
Graphs 3: Planarity and colouring When can a graph be drawn in the plane without crossings? Is it possible to colour the countries of any map with just four colours so that neighbouring countries have different colours? These are two of several apparently unrelated problems considered in this unit.
Networks 3: Assignment and transportation If there are ten applicants for ten jobs and each is suitable for only a few jobs, is it possible to fill all the jobs? If a manufacturer supplies several warehouses with a product made in several factories, how can the warehouses be supplied at the least cost? These problems of the system-management type are answered in this unit.
Design 3: Design of codes Redundant information in a communication system can be used to overcome problems of imperfect reception. This section discusses the properties of certain codes that arise in practice, in particular cyclic codes and Hamming codes, and some codes used in space probes.
Graphs 4: Graphs and computing describes some important uses of graphs in computer science, such as depth-first and breadth-first search, quad trees, and the knapsack and travelling salesman problems.
Networks 4: Physical networks Graph theory provides a unifying method for studying the current through an electrical network or water flow through pipes. This unit describes the graphical representation of such networks.
Design 4: Block designs If an agricultural research station wants to test different varieties of a crop, how can a field be designed to minimise bias due to variations in the soil? The answer lies in block designs. This unit explains the concepts of balanced and resolvable designs and gives methods for constructing block designs.
Conclusion In this unit, many of the ideas and problems encountered in the module are reviewed, showing how they can be generalised and extended, and the progress made in finding solutions is discussed.
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You will learn
Successful study of this module should enhance your skills in finding solutions to problems, interpreting mathematical results in real-world terms and communicating mathematical ideas clearly to both experts and non-experts.
Professional recognition
This module may help you to gain membership of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). For further information, see the IMA website.