美国2007建模大赛优秀论文.docx

2007 MCM ProblemsPROBLEM A: GerrymanderingThe 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 states 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 ProblemAirlines 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 airlines 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