Hint: I've frequently seen students misunderstand the question in the textbook, so they waste a lot of effort answering the wrong question and they get a lousy grade. For each problem, write down several examples and work them out by hand before you start trying to answer the questions in the book. If the problem seems really easy, you've probably misread it; check with me to make sure.
Chapter 6, exercise 1, finding independent sets with maximum total weight. (Examples: write down several node-weighted paths, find several independent sets in each one, and find the total weight of each set. Then try to find a maximum-weight independent set for each of your examples.) 4 points.
Chapter 6, exercise 8, finding optimal times to blast invading robots out of existence. (Those of you fond of video-games will appreciate this....) 4 points.
Chapter 6, exercise 24, gerrymandering a collection of voting precincts into two districts so that your party wins in both districts. 3 points. (Extra credit for an algorithm that handles any specified number of districts, and maximizes the number of districts that your party wins.)
Chapter 7, exercises 2 and 3, finding max flows and min cuts in specific examples. (Note that the diagram for exercise 2 is printed in the middle of exercise 3, and the diagram for exercise 3 is at the top of the next page!) 1 point each.
Chapter 7, exercise 8, allocating blood of different types to patients. 3 points.