A distribution of service times at a waiting line indicates that service takes 12 minutes 30 percent of the time and 14 minutes 70 percent of the time. This distribution has been prepared for Monte Carlo analysis. The first four random numbers drawn are 07, 60, 77, and 49. The average service time of this simulation is
A) 12 minutes
B) 13 minutes
C) 13.5 minutes
D) 14 minutes
E) none of these

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To simulate the service times, we use the given distribution and the random numbers generated by Monte Carlo analysis.

We assign random numbers from 01 to 30 to a service time of 12 minutes, since this occurs 30% of the time. We assign random numbers from 31 to 100 to a service time of 14 minutes, since this occurs 70% of the time.

The first four random numbers drawn are 07, 60, 77, and 49, which correspond to service times of 12 minutes, 14 minutes, 14 minutes, and 14 minutes, respectively.

The average service time is then (12 + 14 + 14 + 14) / 4 = 13.5 minutes.

Therefore, the best choice is C.

A Distribution of Service Times at a Waiting Line Indicates