Students Arrive Randomly at the Help Desk of the Computer

question 99

Multiple Choice

Students arrive randomly at the help desk of the computer lab. There is only one service agent, and the time required for inquiry varies from student to student. Arrival rates have been found to follow the Poisson distribution, and the service times follow the negative exponential distribution. The average arrival rate is 12 students per hour, and the average service rate is 20 students per hour. How many students, on average, will be waiting in line at any one time?

• A) 0.9 students
• B) 1.5 students
• C) 3 students
• D) 4 students
• E) 36 students

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Definitions:

Shaping

a method of training by which successive approximations toward a desired behavior are reinforced until the behavior is achieved.

Successive Approximations

A method used in behavioral psychology involving the reinforcement of behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior.

Reinforcements

In psychology, reinforcements refer to incentives or consequences that strengthen the behavior they follow, making it more likely to occur in the future.

Chaining

A behavioral technique of teaching complex tasks by breaking them down into simpler steps or components.