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"Time headway" in traffic flow is the elapsed time between the time that one car finishes passing a fixed point and the instant that the next car begins to pass that point. Let X= the time headway for two randomly chosen consecutive cars on a freeway during a period of heavy flow (sec). Suppose that in a particular traffic environment, the distribution of time headway has the following form. f(x)={ x 10

k

0

x>1
x≤1

(a) Determine the value of k for which f(x) is a legitimate pdf. (b) Obtain the cumulative distribution function. F(x)={ x>1
x≤1

(c) Use the cdf from (b) to determine the probability that headway exceeds 2sec. (Round your answer to four decimal places.) Use the cdffrom (b) to determine the probability that headway is between 2 and 3sec. (Round your answer to four decimal places.) (d) Obtain the mean value of headway and the standard deviation of headway. (Round your standard deviation to three decimal places.) mean standard deviation (e) What is the probability that headway is within 1 standard deviation of the mean value? (Round your answer to three decimal places.)

User Vonton
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Final answer:

To determine the value of k, we need to find the value for which f(x) is a legitimate pdf. The value of k is 2. The cumulative distribution function is F(x) = { k * x for x ≤ 1; k/2 * x^2 for x > 1 }. The probability that the headway exceeds 2 seconds is 4, and the probability that the headway is between 2 and 3 seconds is 2. The mean value of the headway is 1 second, and the standard deviation is approximately 1.040 seconds. The probability that the headway is within 1 standard deviation of the mean value is approximately 2.079.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the value of k for which f(x) is a legitimate pdf, we need to find the value that makes the integral of f(x) over its entire domain equal to 1.

Since f(x) is defined differently for x values greater than 1 and less than or equal to 1, we need to integrate those two cases separately.

Integrating f(x) for x > 1:

∫f(x)dx = ∫kx dx = k/2 * x^2 | 1 to ∞

Integrating f(x) for x ≤ 1:

∫f(x)dx = ∫k dx = k * x | 0 to 1

Setting the two integrals equal to 1 and solving for k gives us:

k/2 * ∞^2 - k/2 * 1^2 = 1

k * 1 - k * 0 = 1

Simplifying and solving for k, we get:

k = 2

Therefore, the value of k for which f(x) is a legitimate pdf is 2.

To obtain the cumulative distribution function (CDF), we integrate f(x) from 0 to x for x ≤ 1, and integrate from 1 to x for x > 1.

For x ≤ 1:

F(x) = ∫f(x)dx = ∫k dx = k * x | 0 to x

For x > 1:

F(x) = ∫f(x)dx = ∫kx dx = k/2 * x^2 | 1 to x

Therefore, the cumulative distribution function is:

F(x) = { k * x for x ≤ 1; k/2 * x^2 for x > 1 }

To determine the probability that the headway exceeds 2 seconds, we need to find the value of F(2). Plugging in 2 into the CDF equation, we get:

F(2) = 2 * 2 = 4

Therefore, the probability that the headway exceeds 2 seconds is 4.

To determine the probability that the headway is between 2 and 3 seconds, we need to find the difference between F(3) and F(2). Plugging in 3 into the CDF equation, we get:

F(3) = 2 * 3 = 6

The probability that the headway is between 2 and 3 seconds is the difference between F(3) and F(2):

F(3) - F(2) = 6 - 4 = 2

Therefore, the probability that the headway is between 2 and 3 seconds is 2.

To obtain the mean value of the headway, we integrate x * f(x) over its entire domain. For x > 1, the mean is given by:

∫xf(x)dx = ∫kx^2 dx = k/3 * x^3 | 1 to ∞

For x ≤ 1, the mean is given by:

∫xf(x)dx = ∫kx dx = k/2 * x^2 | 0 to 1

Adding the two results together and solving for the mean, we get:

Mean = k/3 * ∞^3 - k/3 * 1^3 + k/2 * 1^2 = ∞ - 1/3 + 1/2

Since the value of k is 2, we can substitute it into the equation:

Mean = 2/3 - 1/3 + 1/2 = 1

Therefore, the mean value of the headway is 1 second.

To obtain the standard deviation of the headway, we need to calculate the variance first. The variance is given by:

Var = ∫(x - mean)^2 * f(x)dx

Using the same integration bounds as the mean calculation, we get:

Var = ∫((x - mean)^2) * f(x)dx = ∫((x - 1)^2) * f(x)dx

Solving this integral, we get:

Var = 1.083

Therefore, the standard deviation of the headway is approximately 1.040 seconds.

To calculate the probability that the headway is within 1 standard deviation of the mean value, we need to find the values of F(mean - std) and F(mean + std). Plugging in the mean and standard deviation values into the CDF equation, we get:

F(mean - std) = 2 * (mean - std) for mean - std ≤ 1; k/2 * (mean - std)^2 for mean - std > 1

F(mean + std) = 2 * (mean + std) for mean + std ≤ 1; k/2 * (mean + std)^2 for mean + std > 1

Substituting the mean and standard deviation values, we get:

F(mean - std) = 2 * (1 - 1.040) for 1 - 1.040 ≤ 1; 2/3 * (1 - 1.040)^2 for 1 - 1.040 > 1

F(mean + std) = 2 * (1 + 1.040) for 1 + 1.040 ≤ 1; 2/3 * (1 + 1.040)^2 for 1 + 1.040 > 1

Calculating these values, we get:

F(mean - std) = 0

F(mean + std) = 2.079

Therefore, the probability that the headway is within 1 standard deviation of the mean value is 2.079 minus 0, which is approximately 2.079.

User Dion Larson
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