MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

P.O. Box 972-60200 – Meru-Kenya.

Tel: +254 (0)799529958, +254 (0)799529959, +254 (0)712524293
Website: www.must.ac.ke Email: info@must.ac.ke

University Examinations 2019/2020

THIRD YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION FOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN

COMPUTER SCIENCE, BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

SMS 3450: SIMULATION & MODELLING

DATE: OCTOBER, 2020 TIME: 2 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer question one and any other two questions.

QUESTION ONE (30 MARKS)

a) List the circumstances under which simulation is the appropriate tool and circumstances
under which simulation is not the appropriate tool. (8 marks)
b) Differentiate between the following
(i) Deterministic and stochastic model
(ii) Static and dynamic simulation model (4 marks)
c) What do you mean by verification and validation of a simulation model? (2 marks)
d) Draw a flow chart diagram of steps involved in a simulation study. (6 marks)
e) Explain why optimization via simulation is difficult. (4 marks)
f) State the properties of a good Arithmetic Number generator. (6 marks)

QUESTION TWO (20 MARKS)

a) Define the following terms as used in simulation

(i) Discrete system (2 marks)
(ii) Continous system (2 marks)
(iii) Stochastic system (2 marks)
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 b) Consider the grocery store with one checkout counter. Prepare a simulation table for
eight customers and find out average waiting time of customer in queue, idle time of
server and average service time. The inter arrival time (IAT) and service time (ST) are
given in minutes. Assume first customer arrives at time=0.

IAT 0 1 1 6 3 7 5 2 4 1
ST(min) 4 2 5 4 1 5 4 1 4 3

c) Use the linear congruential method to generate random numbers given that
X 0 = 27, a = 8, c = 47 and m = 100 (6 marks)

QUESTION THREE (20 MARKS)

a) The time between arrivals at a drive through widow of a fast food restaurant follows the
distribution below. The service time distribution is also given in the table. Use the
random numbers provided to simulate the activities of the first four arrivals. Assume that
the window opens at 11:00 am and that the first arrival is after this based on the first
inter-arrival time.
Time between Arrivals Probability Service Time Probability
1 0.2 1 0.3
2 0.3 2 0.5
3 0.3 3 0.2
4 0.2

Random numbers for arrivals: 14, 74, 27, 03

Random numbers for service times: 88, 32, 36, 24
What time does the fourth customer leave the system? (7 marks)
b) Explain with examples, the discrete and continous systems. (4 marks)
c) Outline the state variables in a single server model. (3 marks)
d) Identify the events in a single server model (2 marks)
e) Define a simulation clock (2 marks)

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 f) A recent survey indicated that 82% of single women aged 25 old will be married in their
lifetime. Using the binomial distribution, find the probability that two or three women in
a sample of twenty will never get married. (2 marks)

QUESTION FOUR (20 MARKS)

a) A farmer has 10 acres of agricultural land and is cultivating tomatoes on the entire land.
Due to fluctuation in water availability the yield per acre differs. The probability
distribution yields are given below. The farmer is interested to know the yield for the
next 12 months if the same water availability exists. Generate 12 random numbers and
simulate the average yield given in the following table. (3 marks)
Yield of tomatoes per acre (kg) Probability
200 0.15
220 0.25
240 0.35
260 0.13
280 0.12

b) Due to fluctuating market price, the price per kg of tomatoes varies from Ksh 5.00 to Ksh
10 per kg. The probability of price variations is given in the table below. Simulate the
price for next 12 months to determine the revenue per acre. Also find the average
revenue per acre.

Price per kg (Ksh) Probability

5.50 0.05
6.50 0.15
7.50 0.30
8.00 0.25
10.00 0.15

c) Consider the grocery store with one checkout counter. The time between arrival and
service times are given in the following table.

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 IAT 0 8 6 1 8 3 8 7 2 3
ST(min) 4 1 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10

Required:
i) Prepare a simulation table (6 marks)
ii) Find the average waiting time for customers. (8 marks)

QUESTION FIVE (20 MARKS)

a) Charles, who is a barber, has found out that he can shave on average 4 customers per
hour. The arrival rate of customers averages 3 customers per hour. Required:
(i) The proportion of time that Charles is idle. (2 marks)
(ii) The probability that a customer receives immediate service upon arrival.
(2 marks)
(iii) Average number of customers in the queuing system. (3 marks)
(iv) Average time a customer spends in the queuing system. (3 marks)
b) Analyze the merits and demerits of simulation technique. (10 marks)

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