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Chapter 13 Waiting Lines and Queuing Theory Models

Econometrics ‫( يسايق داصتقا‬King Abdulaziz University)

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Quantitative Analysis for Management, 11e (Render)

Chapter 13 Waiting Lines and Queuing Theory Models

1) A goal of many waiting line problems is to help a firm find the ideal level of services that
minimize the cost of waiting and the cost of providing the service.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

2) One difficulty in waiting line analysis is that it is sometimes difficult to place a value on
customer waiting time.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

3) The goal of most waiting line problems is to identify the service level that minimizes service
cost.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

4) Two characteristics of arrivals are the line length and queue discipline.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

5) Limited calling populations are assumed for most queuing models.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

6) An "infinite calling population" occurs when the likelihood of a new arrival depends upon the
number of past arrivals.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

7) On a practical note — if we were to study the waiting lines in a hair salon that had only five
chairs for patrons waiting, we should use an infinite queue waiting line model.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

8) If we are studying the arrival of automobiles at a highway toll station, we can assume an infinite
calling population.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

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9) When looking at the arrivals at the ticket counter of a movie theater, we can assume an
unlimited queue.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

10) Arrivals are random when they are dependent on one another and can be predicted.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

11) On a practical note — if we are using waiting line analysis to study customers calling a
telephone number for service, balking is probably not an issue.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

12) On a practical note — if we are using waiting line analysis to study cars passing through a
single tollbooth, reneging is probably not an issue.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

13) On a practical note — we should probably view the checkout counters in a grocery store as a
set of single channel systems.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

14) A bank with a single queue to move customers to several tellers is an example of a single-
channel system.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

15) Service times often follow a Poisson distribution.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

16) An M/M/2 model has Poisson arrivals exponential service times and two channels.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

17) In a single-channel, single-phase system, reducing the service time only reduces the total
amount of time spent in the system, not the time spent in the queue.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)

18) The wait time for a single-channel system is more than twice that for a two-channel system
using two servers working at the same rate as the single server.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
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19) The study of waiting lines is called queuing theory.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: INTRODUCTION

20) The three basic components of a queuing process are arrivals, service facilities, and the actual
waiting line.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: INTRODUCTION

21) In the multichannel model (M/M/m), we must assume that the average service time for all
channels is the same.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)

22) Queuing theory had its beginning in the research work of Albert Einstein.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

23) The arrivals or inputs to the system are sometimes referred to as the calling population.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

24) Frequently in queuing problems, the number of arrivals per unit of time can be estimated by a
probability distribution known as the Poisson distribution.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

25) An automatic car wash is an example of a constant service time model.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)

26) Balking customers are those who enter the queue but then become impatient and leave
without completing the transaction.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

27) In a constant service time model, both the average queue length and average waiting time are
halved.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)

28) A hospital ward with only 30 beds could be modeled using a finite population model.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)

29) A finite population model differs from an infinite population model because there is a random
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relationship between the length of the queue and the arrival rate.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)

30) A transient state is the normal operating condition of the queuing system.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

31) A queue system is in a transient state before the steady state is reached.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

32) Little's Flow Equations are applicable for single-channel systems only.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

33) Little's Flow Equations are advantageous because if one characteristic of the operating system
is known, the other characteristics can be easily found.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

34) Using a simulation model allows one to ignore the common assumptions required to use
analytical models.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: MORE COMPLEX QUEUING MODELS AND THE USE OF SIMULATION

35) If we are using a simulation queuing model, we still have to abide by the assumption of a
Poisson arrival rate, and negative exponential service rate.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

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36) Queuing theory had its beginning in the research work of ________.
A) Albert Einstein
B) A.K. Erlang
C) J.K. Rowling
D) P.K. Poisson
E) A.K. Cox
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

37) Assume that we are using a waiting line model to analyze the number of service technicians
required to maintain machines in a factory. Our goal should be to
A) maximize productivity of the technicians.
B) minimize the number of machines needing repair.
C) minimize the downtime for individual machines.
D) minimize the percent of idle time of the technicians.
E) minimize the total cost (cost of maintenance plus cost of downtime).
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

38) In queuing analysis, total expected cost is the sum of expected ________ plus expected ________.
A) service costs, arrival costs
B) facility costs, calling costs
C) calling cost, inventory costs
D) calling costs, waiting costs
E) service costs, waiting costs
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Topic: WAITING LINE COSTS

39) In queuing theory, the calling population is another name for ________.
A) the queue size
B) the servers
C) the arrivals
D) the service rate
E) the market researchers
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

40) Which of the following is not a valid queuing model based on the Kendall notation?
A) M/M/3
B) D/D/2
C) D/M/1
D) M/M/0
E) G/D/1
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

41) Which of the following is not true about arrivals?

A) Random arrivals are independent of each other.
B) Random arrivals cannot be predicted exactly.
C) The Poisson distribution is often used to represent the arrival pattern.
D) Service times often follow the negative exponential distribution.
E) The exponential distribution is often used to represent the arrival pattern.
Answer: E
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Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

42) An arrival in a queue that reneges is one who

A) after joining the queue, becomes impatient and leaves.
B) refuses to join the queue because it is too long.
C) goes through the queue, but never returns.
D) jumps from one queue to another, trying to get through as quickly as possible.
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

43) The customer who arrives at a bank, sees a long line, and leaves to return another time is
A) balking.
B) cropping.
C) reneging.
D) blithering.
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

44) The three major characteristics of the input source that generates arrivals or customers for
the service system are ________.
A) size, demographics, and behavior
B) size, pattern, and behavior
C) demographics, pattern, and behavior
D) size, demographics, and pattern
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

45) The term queue "discipline" describes the

A) degree to which members of the queue renege.
B) sequence in which members of the queue arrived.
C) degree to which members of the queue are orderly and quiet.
D) sequence in which members of the queue are serviced.
E) All of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

46) A vendor selling newspapers on a street corner is an example of a

A) single-channel, multiphase system.
B) single-channel, single-phase system.
C) multichannel, multiphase system.
D) multichannel, single-phase system.
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

47) Lines at banks where customers wait for a teller window are usually representative of a
A) single-channel, multiphase system.
B) single-channel, single-phase system.
C) multichannel, multiphase system.
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D) multichannel, single-phase system.

E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

48) Which of the following distributions is most often used to estimate the arrival pattern?
A) negative exponential
B) normal
C) Poisson
D) Erlang
E) beta
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

49) A single automatic car wash with one bay and a cycle time of 2.5 minutes is what type of
model?
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/1
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

50) A single automatic car wash with one bay and a service time that is normally distributed is
what type of model?
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/1
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

51) Which of the following is not an assumption in common queuing mathematical models?
A) Arrivals come from an infinite, or very large, population.
B) Arrivals are Poisson distributed.
C) Arrivals are treated on a first-in, first-out basis and do not balk or renege.
D) Service rates follow the normal distribution.
E) The average service rate is faster than the average arrival rate.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)

52) The "utilization factor" is defined as the

A) percent of time the system is idle.
B) average percent of time the customers wait in line.
C) average time the service system is open.
D) percent of time that a single customer is in the system.
E) None of the above
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
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SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)

53) A suburban specialty restaurant has developed a single drive-thru window. Customers order,
pay, and pick up their food at the same window. Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution, while
service times follow an exponential distribution. What type of queuing model is exhibited in this
problem?
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/1
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

54) A suburban specialty restaurant has developed a single drive-thru window. Customers order,
pay, and pick up their food at the same window. Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution, while
service times follow an exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is 6 per hour
and the service rate is 2 every 15 minutes, what is the average number of customers in the
system?
A) 0.50
B) 4.00
C) 2.25
D) 3.00
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

55) A suburban specialty restaurant has developed a single drive-thru window. Customers order,
pay, and pick up their food at the same window. Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution while service
times follow an exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is 6 per hour and the
service rate is 2 every 15 minutes, what is the average number of customers waiting in line behind
the person being served?
A) 0.50
B) 0.75
C) 2.25
D) 3.00
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

56) A suburban specialty restaurant has developed a single drive-thru window. Customers order,
pay, and pick up their food at the same window. Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution while service
times follow an exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is 6 per hour and the
service rate is 2 every 15 minutes, what proportion of the time is the server busy?
A) 0.25
B) 0.50
C) 0.75
D) 2.25
E) 3.00
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Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

57) A suburban specialty restaurant has developed a single drive-thru window. Customers order,
pay, and pick up their food at the same window. Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution while service
times follow an exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is 6 per hour and the
service rate is 2 every 15 minutes, how much time will elapse (in hours) from the time a customer
enters the line until he/she leaves the restaurant?
A) 0.50
B) 0.25
C) 0.75
D) 2.25
E) 3.00
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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58) Customers enter the waiting line at a cafeteria on a first-come, first-served basis. The arrival
rate follows a Poisson distribution, while service times follow an exponential distribution. If the
average number of arrivals is four per minute and the average service rate of a single server is
seven per minute, what is the average number of customers in the system?
A) 0.43
B) 1.67
C) 0.57
D) 1.33
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

59) Customers enter the waiting line at a cafeteria on a first-come, first-served basis. The arrival
rate follows a Poisson distribution, while service times follow an exponential distribution. If the
average number of arrivals is four per minute and the average service rate of a single server is
seven per minute, what is the average number of customers waiting in line behind the person
being served?
A) 0.76
B) 0.19
C) 1.33
D) 1.67
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

60) Customers enter the waiting line to pay for food as they leave a cafeteria on a first-come, first-
served basis. The arrival rate follows a Poisson distribution, while service times follow an
exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is four per minute and the average
service rate of a single server is seven per minute, what proportion of the time is the server busy?
A) 0.43
B) 0.57
C) 0.75
D) 0.25
E) 0.33
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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61) Customers enter the waiting line to pay for food as they leave a cafeteria on a first-come, first-
served basis. The arrival rate follows a Poisson distribution, while service times follow an
exponential distribution. If the average number of arrivals is four per minute and the average
service rate of a single server is seven per minute, on average, how much time will elapse from
the time a customer enters the line until he/she leaves the cafeteria?
A) 0.67 minute
B) 0.50 minute
C) 0.75 minute
D) 0.33 minute
E) 1.33 minutes
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

62) At a local fast-food joint, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 12 every 30 minutes. The fast food
joint takes an average of 2 minutes to serve each arrival. The utilization factor for this system is
A) 0.467.
B) 0.547.
C) 0.800.
D) 0.133.
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

63) At a local fast food joint, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 12 every 30 minutes. Service times
are random (exponential) and average 2 minutes per arrival. The average time in the queue for
each arrival is
A) 2 minutes.
B) 4 minutes.
C) 6 minutes.
D) 8 minutes.
E) 10 minutes.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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64) Which of the following distributions is most often used to estimate service times?
A) negative exponential
B) normal
C) Poisson
D) Erlang
E) beta
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

65) Most systems use a queue discipline known as ________.

A) shortest processing time
B) longest processing time
C) FIFO
D) earliest due date
E) critical ratio
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

66) When waiting time is based on time in the queue, which of the following is the correct
equation for total cost?
A) mCs + λWCw
B) mCw + λWCs
C) mCs + λWqCs
D) mCs + λWqCw
E) mCw + λWqCs
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)

67) A queuing system with a normally distributed arrival pattern, exponential service times, and
three servers would be described as ________.
A) G/G/3
B) M/M/3
C) G/M/3
D) M/G/3
E) N/E/3
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

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68) The initial state of a queuing system (for example, when a restaurant first opens), is referred
to as the ________ state.
A) steady
B) primary
C) introductory
D) transient
E) start-up
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

69) A post office has a single line for customers waiting for the next available postal clerk. There
are two postal clerks who work at the same rate. The arrival rate of customers follows a Poisson
distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. What type of queuing
model applies here?
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/1
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

70) A post office has a single line for customers waiting for the next available postal clerk. There
are two postal clerks who work at the same rate. The arrival rate of customers follows a Poisson
distribution, while the service time follows an normal distribution. What type of queuing model
applies here?
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/2
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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71) A post office has a single line for customers waiting for the next available postal clerk. There
are two postal clerks who work at the same rate. The arrival rate of customers follows a Poisson
distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. The average arrival rate is
three per minute and the average service rate is two per minute for each of the two clerks. What
is the average length of the line?
A) 3.429
B) 1.929
C) 1.143
D) 0.643
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

72) A post office has a single line for customers waiting for the next available postal clerk. There
are two postal clerks who work at the same rate. The arrival rate of customers follows a Poisson
distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. The average arrival rate is
three per minute and the average service rate is two per minute for each of the two clerks. How
long does the average person spend waiting for a clerk?
A) 3.429 minutes
B) 1.929 minutes
C) 1.143 minutes
D) 0.643 minute
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

73) A post office has a single line for customers waiting for the next available postal clerk. There
are two postal clerks who work at the same rate. The arrival rate of customers follows a Poisson
distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. The average arrival rate is
three per minute and the average service rate is two per minute for each of the two clerks. What
proportion of time are both clerks idle?
A) 0.643
B) 0.250
C) 0.750
D) 0.143
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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Table 13-1

M/M/2
Mean Arrival Rate: 9 occurrences per minute
Mean Service Rate: 8 occurrences per minute
Number of Servers: 2

Queue Statistics:
Mean Number of Units in the
System: 1.646
Mean Number of Units in the
Queue: 0.521
Mean Time in the System: 0.183 minutes
Mean Time in the Queue: 0.058 minutes
Service Facility Utilization Factor: 0.563
Probability in No Units in System: 0.280

74) According to the information provided in Table 13-1, on average, how many units are in the
line?
A) 1.646
B) 0.563
C) 0.280
D) 1.125
E) 0.521
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

75) According to the information provided in Table 13-1, what proportion of time is at least one
server busy?
A) 0.563
B) 0.437
C) 0.720
D) 0.280
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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76) Using the information provided in Table 13-1 and counting each person being served and the
people in line, on average, how many people would be in this system?
A) 0.521
B) 1.646
C) 1.125
D) 0.183
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

77) According to the information provided in Table 13-1, what is the average time spent by a
person in this system?
A) 0.058 minute
B) 1.646 minutes
C) 0.521 minute
D) 0.183 minute
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

78) According to the information provided in Table 13-1, what percentage of the total available
service time is being used?
A) 72.0%
B) 28.0%
C) 56.3%
D) It could be any of the above, depending on other factors.
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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79) Cars arrive at a local JLUBE franchise at the rate of 1 every 12 minutes. Service times are
exponentially distributed with an average of 15 minutes. Jack Burns, the JLUBE owner, has
decided to open a second work bay, i.e., make the shop into a two-channel system. Under this new
scheme, the average customer will wait in an ________ line
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/2
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

80) Cars arrive at a local JLUBE franchise at the rate of 1 every 12 minutes. Service times are
exactly 15 minutes. Jack Burns, the JLUBE owner, has decided to open a second work bay, i.e.,
make the shop into a two-channel system. Under this new scheme, the average customer will wait
in an ________ line
A) M/M/1
B) M/M/2
C) M/D/2
D) M/D/1
E) M/G/2
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

81) Cars arrive at a local JLUBE franchise at the rate of 1 every 12 minutes. Service times are
exponentially distributed with an average of 15 minutes. Jack Burns, the JLUBE owner, has
decided to open a second work bay, i.e., make the shop into a two-channel system. Under this new
scheme, the average customer will wait in line
A) approximately 9.6 minutes.
B) approximately 2.5 minutes.
C) approximately 24.6 minutes.
D) approximately 2.1 minutes.
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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82) Cars arrive at a local JLUBE franchise at the rate of 1 every 12 minutes. Service times are
exponentially distributed with an average of 15 minutes. Jack Burns, the JLUBE owner, has
decided to open a second work bay, i.e., make the shop into a two-channel system. Under this new
scheme, the total time an average customer spends in the system will be
A) 37 minutes.
B) 2.1 minutes.
C) 9.6 minutes.
D) 33.3 minutes.
E) 24.6 minutes.
Answer: E
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

Table 13-2

M/M/2
Mean Arrival Rate: 5 occurrences per minute
Mean Service Rate: 3 occurrences per minute
Number of Servers: 2

Queue Statistics:
Mean Number of Units in the
System: 5.455
Mean Number of Units in the
Queue: 3.788
Mean Time in the System: 1.091 minutes
Mean Time in the Queue: 0.758 minutes
Service Facility Utilization Factor: 0.833
Probability in No Units in System: 0.091

83) According to the information provided in Table 13-2, which presents a queuing problem
solution, on average, how many units are in the line?
A) 5.455
B) 3.788
C) 1.091
D) 0.758
E) 0.833
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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84) According to the information provided in Table 13-2, which presents a queuing problem
solution, what proportion of time is at least one server busy?
A) 0.833
B) 0.758
C) 0.091
D) 0.909
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

85) According to the information provided in Table 13-2, which presents a queuing problem
solution, there are two servers in this system. Counting each person being served and the people
in line, on average, how many people would be in this system?
A) 5.455
B) 3.788
C) 9.243
D) 10.900
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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Table 13-3

M/M/3
Mean Arrival Rate: 4 occurrences per minute
Mean Service Rate: 2 occurrences per minute
Number of Servers: 3

Queue Statistics:
Mean Number of Units in the
System: 2.889
Mean Number of Units in the
Queue: 0.889
Mean Time in the System: 0.722 minutes
Mean Time in the Queue: 0.222 minutes
Service Facility Utilization Factor: 0.667
Probability in No Units in System: 0.111

86) According to the information provided in Table 13-3, which presents a queuing problem
solution, what proportion of time is the system totally empty?
A) 0.111
B) 0.333
C) 0.889
D) 0.667
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

87) According to the information provided in Table 13-3, which presents a queuing problem
solution, on average, how long does each customer spend waiting in line?
A) 0.333 minute
B) 0.889 minute
C) 0.222 minute
D) 0.722 minute
E) 0.111 minute
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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88) According to the information provided in Table 13-3, which presents a queuing problem
solution what is the utilization rate of the service facility?
A) 0.111
B) 0.889
C) 0.222
D) 0.722
E) 0.667
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)

89) Little's Flow Equations are transferable to a production environment. Which of the following
would be a proper interpretation of Little's Flow Equations?
A) Flow Rate = Inventory × Flow Time
B) Flow Time = Inventory × Flow Rate
C) Inventory = Flow Rate × Flow Time
D) Time to Take an Order = Flow Rate × Flow Time
E) Flow Rate = Time to Take an Order × Flow Time
Answer: C
Diff: 3
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

90) If everything else remains constant, including the mean arrival rate and service rate, except
that the service time becomes constant instead of exponential,
A) the average queue length will be halved.
B) the average waiting time will be doubled.
C) the average queue length will be doubled.
D) There is not enough information to know what will happen to the queue length and waiting
time.
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)

91) At an automatic car wash, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 7 cars every 30 minutes. The car
wash takes exactly 4 minutes (this is constant). On average, what would be the length of the line?
A) 8.171
B) 7.467
C) 6.53
D) 0.467
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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92) At an automatic car wash, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 7 every 30 minutes. The car wash
takes exactly 4 minutes (this is constant). On average, how long would each car spend at the car
wash?
A) 28 minutes
B) 32 minutes
C) 17 minutes
D) 24 minutes
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

93) At an automatic car wash, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 7 every 30 minutes. The car wash
takes exactly 4 minutes (this is constant). On average, how long would each driver have to wait
before receiving service?
A) 28 minutes
B) 32 minutes
C) 17 minutes
D) 24 minutes
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

94) At an automatic car wash, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 7 every 30 minutes. The car wash
takes exactly 4 minutes (this is constant). On average, how many customers would be at the car
wash (waiting in line or being serviced)?
A) 8.17
B) 7.46
C) 6.53
D) 0.46
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

95) A(n) ________ state is the normal operating condition of the queuing system.
A) primary
B) transient
C) NOC
D) balanced
E) steady
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Topic: SOME GENERAL OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIPS

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96) At a local fast food joint, cars arrive randomly at a rate of 12 every 30 minutes. The fast food
joint takes exactly 2 minutes (this is constant). The average total time in the system is
A) 5.4 minutes.
B) 6.0 minutes.
C) 8.0 minutes.
D) 2.5 minutes.
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

Table 13-4

M/D/1
Mean Arrival Rate: 3 occurrences per minute
Constant Service Rate: 4 occurrences per minute

Queue Statistics:
Mean Number of Units in the
System: 1.875
Mean Number of Units in the
Queue: 1.125
Mean Time in the System: 0.625 minutes
Mean Time in the Queue: 0.375 minutes
Service Facility Utilization Factor: 0.750
Probability in No Units in System: 0.250

97) According to the information provided in Table 13-4, which presents a queuing problem
solution for a queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how much time is spent
waiting in line?
A) 1.875 minutes
B) 1.125 minutes
C) 0.625 minute
D) 0.375 minute
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

98) According to the information provided in Table 13-4, which presents a queuing problem
solution for a queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how many customers are
in the system?
A) 1.875
B) 1.125
C) 0.625
D) 0.375
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

99) According to the information provided in Table 13-4, which presents a queuing problem
solution for a queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how many customers
arrive per time period?
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A) 3
B) 4
C) 1.875
D) 1.125
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

100) According to Table 13-4, which presents a queuing problem with a constant service rate, on
average, how many minutes does a customer spend in the service facility?
A) 0.375 minutes
B) 4 minutes
C) 0.625 minutes
D) 0.25 minutes
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

Table 13-5

M/D/1
Mean Arrival Rate: 5 occurrences per minute
Constant Service Rate: 7 occurrences per minute

Queue Statistics:
Mean Number of Units in the
System: 1.607
Mean Number of Units in the
Queue: 0.893
Mean Time in the System: 0.321 minutes
Mean Time in the Queue: 0.179 minutes
Service Facility Utilization Factor: 0.714

101) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents the solution for a
queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how much time is spent waiting in line?
A) 1.607 minutes
B) 0.714 minute
C) 0.179 minute
D) 0.893 minute
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

102) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents the solution for a
queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how many customers are in the system?
A) 0.893
B) 0.714
C) 1.607
D) 0.375
E) None of the above
Answer: C
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Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

103) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents a queuing problem
solution for a queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how many customers
arrive per time period?
A) 5
B) 7
C) 1.607
D) 0.893
E) None of the above
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

104) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents the solution for a
queuing problem with a constant service rate, on average, how many minutes does a customer
spend in the system?
A) 0.893 minute
B) 0.321 minute
C) 0.714 minute
D) 1.607 minutes
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

105) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents the solution for a
queuing problem with a constant service rate, what percentage of available service time is
actually used?
A) 0.217
B) 0.643
C) 0.321
D) 0.179
E) None of the above
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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106) According to the information provided in Table 13-5, which presents the solution for a
queuing problem with a constant service rate, the probability that the server is idle is ________.
A) 0.217
B) 0.643
C) 0.286
D) 0.714
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

107) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the probability the
system is empty?
A) 1.1500
B) 1.1658
C) .8578
D) .8696
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

108) Which of the following is not an assumption for the M/M/1 model with finite population
source?
A) There is only one server.
B) The population of units seeking service are finite.
C) Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution and service times are exponential.
D) Customers are served on a first come, first served basis.
E) The length of the queue is independent of the arrival rate.
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

109) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the average number
of fax machines in the queue?
A) 1.1658 fax machines
B) 2.9904 fax machines
C) .1563 fax machine
D) .0142 fax machine
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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110) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the average number
of fax machines in the system?
A) .0142 fax machine
B) .1563 fax machine
C) .0249 fax machine
D) .2749 fax machine
E) None of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

111) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the average waiting
time in the queue?
A) .0142 hour
B) .1563 hour
C) .0249 hour
D) .2749 hour
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

112) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the average time
spent in the system?
A) .0142 hour
B) .1563 hour
C) .0249 hour
D) .2749 hour
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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113) The school of business has 3 fax machines. The toner in each machine needs to be changed
after about 5 hours of use. There is one unit secretary who is responsible for the fax machine
maintenance. It takes him 15 minutes to replace the toner cartridge. What is the probability that 2
fax machines need toner at the same time?
A) .8576
B) .1286
C) .0129
D) .1415
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

114) A new shopping mall is considering setting up an information desk manned by one employee.
Based upon information obtained from similar information desks, it is believed that people will
arrive at the desk at the rate of 15 per hour. It takes an average of two minutes to answer a
question. It is assumed that arrivals are Poisson and answer times are exponentially distributed.
(a) Find the probability that the employee is idle.
(b) Find the proportion of time that the employee is busy.
(c) Find the average number of people receiving and waiting to receive information.
(d) Find the average number of people waiting in line to get information.
(e) Find the average time a person seeking information spends at the desk.
(f) Find the expected time a person spends waiting in line to have his question answered.
Answer:
(a) Po = 0.50
(b) ρ = 0.50
(c) L=1
(d) Lq = 0.50
(e) W = 0.0667 hour
(f) Wq = 0.0333 hour
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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115) A new shopping mall is considering setting up an information desk manned by one employee.
Based upon information obtained from similar information desks, it is believed that people will
arrive at the desk at the rate of 15 per hour. It takes exactly two minutes to answer each question.
It is assumed that arrivals are Poisson.
(a) Find the probability that the employee is idle.
(b) Find the proportion of time that the employee is busy.
(c) Find the average number of people receiving and waiting to receive information.
(d) Find the average number of people waiting in line to get information.
(e) Find the average time a person seeking information spends at the desk.
(f) Find the expected time a person spends waiting in line to have his question answered.
Answer:
(a) Po = 0.50
(b) ρ = 0.50
(c) L = 0.75
(d) Lq = 0.25
(e) W = 0.05 hour
(f) Wq = 0.03 hour
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL
AACSB: Analytic Skills

116) Sam the Vet is running a rabies vaccination clinic for dogs at the local grade school. Sam can
vaccinate a dog every 3 minutes. It is estimated that the dogs will arrive independently and
randomly throughout the day at a rate of 1 dog every 6 minutes, according to a Poisson
distribution. Also assume that Sam's vaccinating times are exponentially distributed.
(a) Find the probability that Sam is idle.
(b) Find the proportion of time that Sam is busy.
(c) Find the average number of dogs receiving or waiting to be vaccinated.
(d) Find the average number of dogs waiting to be vaccinated.
(e) Find the average time a dog waits before getting vaccinated.
(f) Find the average amount (mean) of time a dog spends between waiting in line and getting
vaccinated.
Answer:
(a) Po = 0.5
(b) ρ = 0.5
(c) L=1
(d) Lq = 0.5
(e) Wq = 0.05 hour
(f) W = 0.1 hour
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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117) Sam the Vet is running a rabies vaccination clinic for dogs at the local grade school. Sam can
vaccinate a dog every 3 minutes. It is estimated that the dogs will arrive independently and
randomly throughout the day at a rate of 1 dog every 4 minutes, according to a Poisson
distribution. Also assume that Sam's vaccinating times are exponentially distributed.
(a) Find the probability that Sam is idle.
(b) Find the proportion of time that Sam is busy.
(c) Find the average number of dogs receiving or waiting to be vaccinated.
(d) Find the average number of dogs waiting to be vaccinated.
(e) Find the average time a dog waits before getting vaccinated.
(f) Find the average amount (mean) of time a dog spends between waiting in line and getting
vaccinated.
Answer:
(a) Po = 0.25
(b) ρ = 0.75
(c) L=3
(d) Lq = 2.25
(e) Wq = 0.15 hour
(f) W = 0.2 hour
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

118) A dry cleaner has a single drive-thru window for customers. The arrival rate of cars follows a
Poisson distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. The average
arrival rate is 16 per hour and the average service time is three minutes.
(a) What is the average number of cars in the line?
(b) What is the average time spent waiting to get to the service window?
(c) What percentage of time is the dry cleaner's drive-thru window idle?
(d) What is the probability there are more than 2 cars at the drive-thru window?
Answer:
(a) Lq = 3.2
(b) Wq = 0.2 hour (12 minutes)
(c) Po = 0.20
(d) Pn>k = 0.512
Diff: 2
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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119) A dry cleaner has a single drive-thru window for customers. The arrival rate of cars follows a
Poisson distribution, while the service time follows an exponential distribution. The average
arrival rate is 16 per hour and the average service time is three minutes. If the dry cleaner wants
to accommodate (have enough room for) All of the waiting cars at least 96 percent of the time,
how many car-lengths should they make the driveway leading to the window?
Answer: The probability of having more than 14 cars in the system is (16/20) 14+1 = 0.035, so
they should make the driveway approximately 13 car-lengths long (because one car will be at the
service window). (The probability of having more than 13 cars in the system is 0.044 (which is too
high), and the percentage only gets worse as the queue length is shortened.)
Diff: 3
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

120) Sam the Vet is running a rabies vaccination clinic for dogs at the local grade school. Sam can
vaccinate a dog every 3 minutes. It is estimated that the dogs will arrive independently and
randomly throughout the day at a rate of 1 dog every 6 minutes, according to a Poisson
distribution. Also assume that Sam's vaccinating times are exponentially distributed. Sam would
like to have each waiting dog placed in a holding pen. If Sam wants to be certain he has enough
cages to accommodate all dogs at least 90 percent of the time, how many cages should he
prepare?
Answer: He needs to prepare 2 cages. The probability of having more than 3 dogs in the system is
0.0625 while the probability of having more than 2 dogs in the system is 0.125.
Diff: 3
Topic: SINGLE-CHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

121) A new shopping mall is considering setting up an information desk operated by two
employees. Based on information obtained from similar information desks, it is believed that
people will arrive at the desk at the rate of 20 per hour. It takes an average of 4 minutes to
answer a question. It is assumed that arrivals are Poisson and answer times are exponentially
distributed.
(a) Find the proportion of the time that the employees are busy.
(b) Find the average number of people waiting in line to get some information.
(c) Find the expected time a person spends just waiting in line to have his question answered.
Answer:
(a) ρ = 0.667
(b) Lq = 1.0667
(c) Wq = 0.0533 hour
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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122) Cars arrive at a parking lot entrance at the rate of 20 per hour. The average time to get a
ticket and proceed to a parking space is two minutes. There are two lot attendants at the current
time. The Poisson and exponential distribution appear to be relevant in this situation.
(a) What is the probability that an approaching auto must wait?
(b) What is the average waiting time?
(c) What is the average number of autos waiting to enter the garage?
Answer:
(a) Po = 0.50
(b) Wq = 0.25 minute
(c) Lq = 0.0833 auto
Diff: 3
Topic: MULTICHANNEL QUEUING MODEL WITH POISSON ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL
SERVICE TIMES (M/M/m)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

123) Bank Boston has a branch at Bryant College. The branch is busiest at the beginning of the
college year when freshmen and transfer students open accounts. This year, freshmen arrived at
the office at a rate of 40 per day (8-hour day). On average, it takes the Bank Boston staff person
about ten minutes to process each account application. The bank is considering having one or two
tellers. Each teller is paid $12 per hour and the cost of waiting in line is assumed to be $8 per
hour.
(a) What is the total daily waiting cost for the single teller model?
(b) What is the total daily waiting cost for the two-teller model?
(c) What is the total daily service cost for the single teller model?
(d) What is the total daily service cost for the two-teller model?
(e) Which model is preferred?
Answer:
(a) Total wait cost = [(5 * .833 hours) (8)] * 8 hours/day = $266.56
(b) Total wait cost = [(5 * .035 hours) (8)] * 8 hours/day = $11.20
(c) Total service cost = (1 * $12) * 8 hours/day = $96
(d) Total service cost = (2 * $12) * 8 hours/day = $192
(e) Two channel model
Diff: 3
Topic: VARIOUS
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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124) At the start of football season, the ticket office gets busy the day before the first game.
Customers arrive at the rate of four every ten minutes. A ticket seller can service a customer in
four minutes. Traditionally, there are two ticket sellers working. The university is considering an
automated ticket machine similar to the airlines' e-ticket system. The automated ticket machine
can service a customer in 2 minutes.
(a) What is the average length of the queue for the in-person model?
(b) What is the average length of the queue for the automated system model?
(c) What is the average time in the system for the in-person model?
(d) What is the average time in the system for the automated system model?
(e) Assume the ticket sellers earn $8 per hour and the machine costs $20 per hour (amortized
over 5 years). The wait time is only $4 per hour because students are patient. What is the total
cost of each model?
Answer:
(a) Lq = 2.844
(b) Lq = 1.6
(c) W = 0.1852 hour or 11.11 minutes
(d) W = 0.1 hour or 6 minutes
(e) Total cost (in-person) = (2 ∗ $8/hour) + (24/hour ∗ .1852 hours) ($4/hour) = $33.78
Total cost (automated) = (1 ∗ $20/hour) + (24/hour ∗ .1 hour) ($4/hour) = $29.60
Diff: 3
Topic: VARIOUS
AACSB: Analytic Skills

125) Consider a single-server queuing system with Poisson arrivals of 10 units per hour and a
constant service time of 2 minutes per unit. How long will the customer waiting time be in
seconds, on average?
Answer: 10 / [(2)(30)(30−10)] = .00833333 hours = 0.5 minute = 30 seconds
Diff: 2
Topic: CONSTANT SERVICE TIME MODEL (M/D/1)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

126) There is a tutoring lab at a university that holds 20 students. Due to the popularity of the 3
tutors, the lab is always at capacity. Each student approaches a tutor an average of 2 times per
hour, and a tutor spends on average 5 minutes per question from a student. The service time
follows an exponential distribution.
(a) What proportion of the time are the tutors busy?
(b) What is the average waiting time for students in queue?
Answer:
(a) ρ = 0.86
(b) Wq = 0.06 hours
Diff: 2
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

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127) A professor decides to hold a three hour window open for student advising. The professor has
15 advisees. He's unsure if each advisee will show up, and its possible that a single advisee could
show up multiple times during the 3 hour window. On average, the professor will spend 12
minutes with each student. He usually expects each student to arrive once during the 3 hour
window.
(a) What proportion of the time can the professor expect to be busy during the window?
(b) What is the expected number of students in queue during the window?
(c) What is the expected wait time in queue during the window?
Answer:
(a) ρ = 0.82
(b) Lq = 1.88
(c) Wq = 0.46 hour
Diff: 3
Topic: FINITE POPULATION MODEL (M/M/1 WITH FINITE SOURCE)
AACSB: Analytic Skills

128) With regard to queuing theory, define what is meant by balking.

Answer: This refers to the situation when arriving customers choose to not enter the queue
because it is too long to suit their needs or interests.
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

129) With regard to queuing theory, define what is meant by reneging.

Answer: the situation when customers in a queue choose to leave the queue before getting
service
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

130) What is meant by a single-channel queuing system?

Answer: one service facility system fed by one queue
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

131) What is meant by a multichannel queuing system?

Answer: more than one service facility all fed by the same queue
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

132) What is meant by a single-phase system?

Answer: Arrivals leave the system after receiving service at only one station.
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

133) What is meant by a multiphase system?

Answer: Service is provided at more than one station, one after the other.
Diff: 2
Topic: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUEUING SYSTEM

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