Business Questions Assistance

Question 1:

You have been asked to fill-in for your boss this week. Your boss’s assistant informs you that he had scheduled an engagement to teach a group of students at the local University about PERT/CPM approach to project scheduling and has asked that you do it instead. In an initial write-up for the presentation, discuss the key elements of PERT/CPM to include (but not limited to) assumptions, how it works, and expected outcomes.

Question 2

Ajax is about to embark on a project involving the design, manufacture and introduction of a new microwave oven.  The first three activities and the immediate predecessors are:
 
      Activity Predecessor
                 A       Prototype Design none
                 B      Acquisition of Materials A
                 C      Prototype Construction B

However, it has not yet been decided whether the prototype materials will be purchased from a vendor (taking two weeks) or produced in another Ajax division (four weeks).  What are the implications of this regarding usage of any standard project scheduling technique?