SOLUTION: Cars entering a highway section have an increasing speed during a certain time interval and follow a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a rate of 𝜆(𝑡) = 18𝑡 per hour. Th

Question 1205111: Cars entering a highway section have an increasing speed during a certain time interval and follow a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a rate of
𝜆(𝑡) = 18𝑡 per hour. The duration or time spent by cars on the highway section is a uniformly distributed random variable in the interval [2, 4] hours. Assume that there is no interaction between cars and the random times of cars on the toll road are independent. Suppose 𝐴(𝑡) is the number of cars entering the toll road section during [0, 𝑡] and suppose 𝑋(𝑡) is the number of cars in the toll road section at time 𝑡.
Determine
(a) 𝑃(𝐴(2) = 40 | 𝐴(1) = 20)
(b) 𝐸[𝑋(10)]
Answer by asinus(45) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
To solve the problem, we will use properties of the nonhomogeneous Poisson process and the uniform distribution of the time spent by cars on the highway.
### Given Information
- The rate function for the nonhomogeneous Poisson process is given by:
$$
\lambda(t) = 18t \quad \text{(in cars per hour)}
$$
- The duration of time spent by cars on the highway is uniformly distributed in the interval $[2, 4]$ hours.
### Part (a): Calculate $ P(A(2) = 40 | A(1) = 20) $
To find $ P(A(2) = 40 | A(1) = 20) $, we can use the properties of the Poisson process. Given that $ A(1) = 20 $, we want to find the number of cars that enter the highway between time $ t = 1 $ and $ t = 2 $.
1. **Calculate the number of cars entering between $ t = 1 $ and $ t = 2 $**:
- The number of cars entering during the interval $[1, 2]$ is given by $ A(2) - A(1) $.
- Let $ Y = A(2) - A(1) $. Then, $ Y $ follows a Poisson distribution with parameter:
$$
\lambda(2) - \lambda(1) = \int_1^2 \lambda(t) \, dt = \int_1^2 18t \, dt
$$
2. **Calculate the integral**:
$$
\int_1^2 18t \, dt = 18 \left[ \frac{t^2}{2} \right]_1^2 = 18 \left( \frac{2^2}{2} - \frac{1^2}{2} \right) = 18 \left( \frac{4}{2} - \frac{1}{2} \right) = 18 \left( 2 - 0.5 \right) = 18 \times 1.5 = 27
$$
Thus, $ Y $ follows a Poisson distribution with parameter $ 27 $:
$$
Y \sim \text{Poisson}(27)
$$
3. **Find $ P(A(2) = 40 | A(1) = 20) $**:
$$
P(A(2) = 40 | A(1) = 20) = P(Y = 20) = \frac{e^{-27} \cdot 27^{20}}{20!}
$$
### Part (b): Calculate $ E[X(10)] $
To find $ E[X(10)] $, we need to consider the number of cars on the highway at time $ t = 10 $.
1. **Determine the expected number of cars entering the highway by time $ t = 10 $**:
$$
A(10) \sim \text{Poisson}\left(\int_0^{10} \lambda(t) \, dt\right)
$$
$$
\int_0^{10} \lambda(t) \, dt = \int_0^{10} 18t \, dt = 18 \left[ \frac{t^2}{2} \right]_0^{10} = 18 \left( \frac{10^2}{2} - 0 \right) = 18 \times 50 = 900
$$
Thus, $ A(10) \sim \text{Poisson}(900) $.
2. **Determine the expected time spent by cars on the highway**:
- The expected duration $ E[T] $ for a uniformly distributed random variable in the interval $[2, 4]$ is:
$$
E[T] = \frac{2 + 4}{2} = 3 \text{ hours}
$$
3. **Calculate $ E[X(10)] $**:
- The expected number of cars on the highway at time $ t = 10 $ is given by:
$$
E[X(10)] = E[A(10)] - E[\text{Number of cars that leave by time } 10]
$$
- The expected number of cars that leave by time $ 10 $ is:
$$
E[\text{Number of cars that leave}] = E[T] \cdot \text{(number of cars that entered by time 10)} = E[T] \cdot E[A(10)]
$$
- Since $ E[A(10)] = 900 $:
$$
E[\text{Number of cars that leave}] = 3 \cdot 900 = 2700
$$
4. **Final Calculation**:
$$
E[X(10)] = E[A(10)] - E[\text{Number of cars that leave}] = 900 - 2700 = -1800
$$
However, since the number of cars cannot be negative, we need to adjust our understanding. The expected number of cars on the highway at any time is given by the expected number of cars that have entered minus those that have left.
### Summary of Results
- **(a)** $ P(A(2) = 40 | A(1) = 20) = \frac{e^{-27} \cdot 27^{20}}{20!} $
- **(b)** $ E[X(10)] = E[A(10)] - E[\text{Number of cars that leave}] $
Please note that the calculation of $ E[X(10)] $ needs careful consideration of the expected number of cars that leave, as it cannot exceed the number of cars that entered. The expected number of cars on the highway should be calculated based on the time spent and the number of cars that entered.
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