Question

A city planner is using simulation software to study crowd flow out of a large arena after an event has ended. The arena is located in an urban city. Which of the following best describes a limitation of using a simulation for this purpose?
a) The model used by the simulation software cannot be modified once the simulation has been used.
b) The model used by the simulation software often omits details so that it is easier to implement.
c) Running a simulation requires more time to generate data from trials than observing the crowd exiting the arena at various events.
d) Running a simulation requires a large number of observations to be collected before it can be used to explore a problem.

Answer 1

Answer:

d)

Explanation:

The main limitation of simulations is that running a simulation requires a large number of observations to be collected before it can be used to explore a problem. In a real life situation there are thousands of variables to take into consideration which can drastically affect the way that the situation unfolds at any given time. Therefore, in order to replicate/simulate such a scenario all of these variables need to be taken into consideration. This data can take a large amount of time to observe and collect in order to implement into the simulation so that it provides an accurate depiction of the problem.