Answer to March 8, 2004 Problem

The Handley Biker Problem

 
A Handley Biker wants to tour five cities in one day: Alphaville, Betatown, Calcooluscity, Deriveburg, & Epsilonborough; located at (1,0), (2,3), (-2,4), (5,-1), and (-3,-2), respectively.
She wants to see all cities (not necessarily in that order) and travels from town to town in straight lines.

What is the shortest total distance possible, where should she start, and what is the sequence of cities she visits? Express the answer as an exact answer or at least to four decimal places.

 

Solution to the Problem:

ECBAD has the shortest distance of 17.4913 units.

Julie mentioned that she used Djikstra's algorithm to find the starting point. Djikstra's algorithm (named after its discover, E.W. Dijkstra) solves the problem of finding the shortest path from a point in a graph (the source) to a destination.


Correctly solved by:

1. Akash Patel Columbus, Georgia
2. Walt Arrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Jason Storer Winchester, Virginia
4. Julie Dallas, Texas
5. Britney Ford Winchester, Virginia
6. David Wong Winchester, Virginia
7. Jeffrey Gaither Winchester, Virginia
8. James Alarie University of Michigan -- Flint
Flint, Michigan
9. Bill Hall Wellington, Florida
10. Monica Quach Harrisonburg, Virginia
11. David & Judy Dixon Bennettsville, South Carolina
12. Kristofer Friman Tullängsskolan, Sweden
13. Boris Luis G ----------
14. Chris Maggiolo Harrisonburg, Virginia
15. Bella Patel Harrisonburg, Virginia
16. Helna Patel Harrisonburg, Virginia
17. Riddhi Kothari Harrisonburg, Virginia
18. Laura LaRusso Winchester, Virginia