ES + activity duration.

ES + activity duration.

• A. Latest Finish (LF)
• B. Earliest Start (ES)
• C. Latest Start (LS)
• D. Earliest Finish (EF)

Answer: (D)

The concept being tested is how to determine the earliest finish time for an activity in CPM using the forward pass. You first find the earliest start (the time when all predecessors have completed). The earliest finish is simply that start time plus the activity’s duration, so EF = ES + duration. This makes sense because the activity can’t finish until it has run for its full duration starting from the earliest possible start. For example, if an activity can start at day 3 and lasts 5 days, it finishes at day 8. This is why the option corresponding to Earliest Finish is the correct choice. The other times describe when to start or finish relative to deadlines (latest finish, latest start) or just the starting point (earliest start), and they’re used for different calculations like slack and the critical path.

The concept being tested is how to determine the earliest finish time for an activity in CPM using the forward pass. You first find the earliest start (the time when all predecessors have completed). The earliest finish is simply that start time plus the activity’s duration, so EF = ES + duration. This makes sense because the activity can’t finish until it has run for its full duration starting from the earliest possible start. For example, if an activity can start at day 3 and lasts 5 days, it finishes at day 8. This is why the option corresponding to Earliest Finish is the correct choice. The other times describe when to start or finish relative to deadlines (latest finish, latest start) or just the starting point (earliest start), and they’re used for different calculations like slack and the critical path.