Four cars need to travel from Akala (A) to Bakala (B). Two routes are available, one via Mamur (M) and the other via Nanur (N). The roads from A to M, and from N to B, are both short and narrow. In each case, one car takes 6 minutes to cover the distance, and each additional car increases the travel time per car by 3 minutes because of congestion. (For example, if only two cars drive from A to M, each car takes 9 minutes.) On the road from A to N, one car takes 20 minutes, and each additional car increases the travel time per car by 1 minute. On the road from M to B, one car takes 20 minutes, and each additional car increases the travel time per car by 0.9 minute.
The police department orders each car to take a particular route in such a manner that it is not possible for any car to reduce its travel time by not following the order, while the other cars are following the order.
A new one-way road is built from M to N. Each car now has three possible routes to travel from A to B: A-M-B, A-N-B and A-M-N-B. On the road from M to N, one car takes 7 minutes and each additional car increases the travel time per car by j. minute. Assume that any car taking the A-M-N-B route travels the A-M portion at the same time as other cars taking the A-M-B route, and the N-B portion at the same time as other cars taking the A-N-B route.
If all the cars follow the police order, what is the minimum travel time (in minutes) from A to B? (Assume that the police department would never order all the cars to take the same route.)
From the previous question we have found that
1 car take AMB route, 2 cars take AMNB route and other take ANB route.
Then the portion A-M will be travelled by 3 cars, M-B by one car, M-N by 2 cars, A-N by 1 car and N-B by 3 cars.
Then travel time of AMB will be A-M + M-B = (6+3*2) + (20) = 32
Then travel time of AMNB will be A-M + M-N + N-B = (6+3*2) + (7+1) + (6+3*2) = 32
Then travel time of ANB will be A-N + N-B = (20) + (6+3*2) = 32
The minimum travel time from A to B is 32 min.
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