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# Warning: auto-grading is not working at the moment, please wait for an announcement on Canvas.


# A7 Project Submission Checklist

📗 Regular component (out of 5) should be submitted using the "Grade" and "Submit" buttons at the bottom of the page.
➩ Submission of the text file generated by the auto-grader to Canvas Assignment A7 is optional.
➩ Due date: August 9, no submission after that will be accepted.
📗 Competition component (out of 5) text file generated using Question 9 "Generate" button should be submitted to the Canvas Assignment A7C: Link
➩ Submission of an incorrectly formatted text file and any additional files to A7C will result in a competition score of \(-\infty\).
➩ Due date: August 4, no submission after that will be accepted under any circumstances.
📗 Note: Canvas A7 and A7C due date is the recommended due date, early submissions of competitions before the recommended due date will participate in trial competitions with the option to keep the score (not ranking).
📗 Hint: example submissions, discussion session schedules, and group recommendations (very different for different assignments) can be found on Piazza: Link.

# A7 Project Instruction

📗 Enter your ID (the wisc email ID without @wisc.edu) here: and click (or hit the "Enter" key)
📗 You can also load from your saved file
and click .
📗 If the questions are not generated correctly, try refresh the page using the button at the top left corner.
📗 The same ID should generate the same set of questions. Your answers are not saved when you close the browser. You could either copy and paste or load your program outputs into the text boxes for individual questions or print all your outputs to a single text file and load it using the button at the bottom of the page.
📗 Please do not refresh the page: your answers will not be saved.
📗 You can write the code in any programming language and using any large language models. You do not have to submit your code.
📗 Please report any bugs on Piazza.

# Warning: please enter your ID before you start!


CP


📗 (Introduction) In this project, you will plan the routes of two cars to pick up groceries. Your routes should be paths on a graph where the nodes represent grocery stores and edges represent roads between stores with weights representing the distances (in miles). Each grocery store has a list of items with possibly different prices. Your goal is to get as many items on your shopping list at the lowest possible price.

📗 (Part 1) Assuming only one store has all items (other stores do not have any items), use Dijkstra or A* algorithm to compute the shortest path from every initial position to that store.

📗 (Part 2) Assuming different stores have different items, use a greedy algorithm to find an approximate optimal path to get all items from your shopping list.

For Part 1 and Part 2, use this practice map:

➩ The store list (the columns are: store ID, emoji, prices of each of the 100 items [-1 means the store does not have the item], the adjacency list and edge weight [pair of numbers: ID of the other store and distance to that store]):

➩ Your shopping list:


📗 (Competition) Submit the route for both of your cars and note that they should take into consideration of the other students' routes: there is only one copy of each item in each grocery store, so you might not get an item if another student bought it before your arrive at the store.

There are three groups you can join, and you can choose your group based on your shopping list (from Part 1 and Part 2) and other students' choices.
➩ Group 0 [Nature]
Store list (same format as in Part 1 and Part 2):


➩ Group 1 [Objects]
Store list (same format as in Part 1 and Part 2):


➩ Group 2 [Places]
Store list (same format as in Part 1 and Part 2):



➩ The prices are integers between 0 and 9 measured in units of utility (happiness), and you will get 10 units of utility for each item in your shopping list. Your score will be the total number of units of utility you get from the two (simultaneous) shopping trips (total distance traveled should be 5000 miles).

Your project grade is based on your submission to this assignment (out of 5) plus your ranking in the class (out of 5):
Top 20% gets 5/5.
Next 20% gets 4/5.
Next 20% gets 3/5.
Next 20% gets 2/5.
Next 20% gets 1/5.
(The students who do not participate in the competition will be given scores of negative infinities when computing the rankings).

# Competition Simulator [DO NOT USE FOR TESTING]



Item: out of 10
Test items:

Submissions:

Leader board:
Team:

# Question 1 (Part 1)

📗 [1 points] Enter the shortest paths between the \(n\) pairs of stores in the following list, only considering distances (\(n\) lines, with integer store IDs in each line, comma separated).
➩ Store list (each line contains the initial and end store IDs):
Hint




# Question 2 (Part 1)

📗 [1 points] Compute the total distance traveled using the path from the previous question (\(n\) integer in one line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 3 (Part 1)

📗 [1 points] Find the list of items on your shopping list that be obtained along this path (\(n\) lines, with integer item IDs in each line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 4 (Part 1)

📗 [1 points] Find the total score (in units of utility) based on this trip, that is, the utility from getting the items minus the prices paid for these items (\(n\) integer in one line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 5 (Part 2)

📗 [1 points] Given a total distance of , find all stores (call the number \(k\)) that can be reached from (integer store IDs in one line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 6 (Part 2)

📗 [1 points] Given the same initial store and total distance from the previous question, find the shortest paths to each node in the list, and take note of the one with the highest score (\(k\) lines, integer store IDs in each line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 7 (Part 2)

📗 [1 points] Given the same initial store and total distance from the previous question, use the greedy algorithm specified in the instruction (or another one that you come up with) to find the an optimal path that approximately maximizes the score (integer store IDs in one line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 8 (Part 2)

📗 [1 points] Find and compare the total score based on the trip from the previous two questions (two integers on one line, comma separated).
Hint




# Question 9 (Competition)

📗 [1 points] Please use the following form to generate a text file:
➩ Wisc Net ID (the ??? in ???@wisc.edu):
➩ Group:
➩ Player Icon (text from this icon):
➩ Player ID (a number between 0 and 9999):
➩ Network First (see net):

➩ Network Second:


➩ Output file:

📗 Every student must perform training independently and submit different trained networks.
📗 Submit this file on Canvas to Assignment A?C.
📗 To get the point to this question, please check this box if you submitted the file on Canvas or decided not to participate in the competition:

# Question 10

📗 [1 points] Please list the AI tools and references you used and the names of other students and course staff you discussed the assignment or competition with. Please also enter any comments and suggestions including possible mistakes and bugs with the questions and the auto-grading. If you completed the assignment without any help (not recommended), please enter "None" and do not leave this question blank.
📗 Answer: .

# Grade


 * * * * * 

 * * * * *
📗 Grading may take around 5 to 10 seconds. Please be patient and do not click "Grade" multiple times.

# Submission

 
📗 Please do not modify the content in the above text field: use the "Grade" button to update.


📗 You could submit multiple times (but please do not submit too often): only the latest submission will be counted. 
📗 Please also save the text in the above text box to a file using the button or copy and paste it into a file yourself .
📗 You could load your answers from the text (or txt file) in the text box below using the button . The first two lines should be "##a: 7" and "##id: your id", and the format of the remaining lines should be "##1: your answer to question 1" newline "##2: your answer to question 2", etc. Please make sure that your answers are loaded correctly before submitting them.



📗 Saving and loading may take around 5 to 10 seconds. Please be patient and do not click "Load" multiple times.

# Presentations and Interviews

📗 Presentations and interviews are optional for the competitions.
📗 If your competition grade is 2, 3, or 4, you can book an interview with the TA for 15 to 30 minutes.
📗 Interviews can only be booked during discussion sessions on Zoom (either during the current discussion session or for a future date and time): Link. Please do not email/spam the TA.
📗 A maximum of 3 interviews can be booked per person, and in the case you need 1 point for the next letter grade, we will allow a 4th one after the final exam.
📗 During the interviews, you will give a 5 to 10 minutes presentation to explain anything you did on the project that is creative or technically challenging. Then you will answer three technical questions about your presentation or any materials related to the assignment.
➩ If you answer any one of the three questions incorrectly, you will get \(-1\).
➩ If you answer all questions correctly, and if your presentation ideas are correct, interesting, consistent with your submissions, and not done by many other students (we will make the decision after all interviews are done), you will get \(+1\). 
➩ Otherwise, your grade will not change.





Last Updated: June 26, 2026 at 3:06 AM