I'm having trouble understanding a past quiz question I got:
Bobby works at Starbucks in San Mateo (V). He is doing quality assurance testing and needs to visit stores in Palo Alto (B), Tenderloin (C), and San Jose (S) - and then return to San Mateo for a meeting.
The distances between the stores are:
V→B = 2
V→C = 3
V→S = 6
B→C = 1
B→S = 5
C→S = 4
Which is the first store he visits in the optimal solution to this problem?
How would you approach solving this problem? It reminds me a bit of Djistra's algorithm but I suspect there's an easier way other than trying every combination as the time limit is short.
My interpretation:
B__1__C
| |
2 | | 4
|__6__|
V S
For Bobby to visit all 4 stores and return to V, he simply starts at V and travels the edges of the above box. But the question is asking which is the first store? Either direction will give a total of 13, so how is there a right answer?