Table 15.5
The daily requirements for highway patrol officers at Park City over the week are:
Each officer works five days a week and must have two consecutive days off.
-Use the information in Table 15.5.What is the minimum number of officers required if preference is given to the pair S-SU in case of a tie in the selection of off days?
A)9
B)10
C)11
D)12

Question

Table 15.5
The daily requirements for highway patrol officers at Park City over the week are:
  Each officer works five days a week and must have two consecutive days off.
-Use the information in Table 15.5.What is the minimum number of officers required if preference is given to the pair S-SU in case of a tie in the selection of off days?
A)9 
B)10 
C)11 
D)12

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the minimum number of officers required, we need to consider the maximum number of officers that can have the same off-days, which is 4 (as there are only 5 working days in a week and officers must have 2 consecutive days off). Therefore, we divide the total number of working days in a week (35) by the maximum number of officers that can have the same off-days (4) and round up to the nearest whole number.

35/4 = 8.75
Rounding up, we get 9.

However, if we give preference to the pair S-SU, then we need to consider the maximum number of officers that can have the same off-days while also ensuring that at least one officer in each group has S-SU off. The maximum number of officers in a group with S-SU off can be 3, so we divide the total number of working days (35) by 3 and round up to the nearest whole number.

35/3 = 11.67
Rounding up, we get 12.

Therefore, the minimum number of officers required, giving preference to the S-SU pair, is 12. The answer is C.

Table 15.5 The Daily Requirements for Highway Patrol Officers at Park City