KABALE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF COMPUTING, LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION JULY 2021

PROGRAMME : BSCS
PAPER : MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION
CODE : CODE BCS 313
YEAR : III
DATE :
DURATION : Between 3-12 hours
TIME : 9:00am to 12:00am
Examination Instructions
1. Attempt all questions in section A (40 marks) and Any Three(3) Questions from Section B
2. Number all the questions attempted, including the sections and subsections
3. This exam is an “openbook,” which means you are permitted to use publicly available material you
want, including books, the internet, etc. (You are NOT allowed to submit questions to internet discussion
groups, though!)
4. The exam must be taken completely alone. Showing it or discussing it with anybody is forbidden,
including (but not limited to) the other students in the course in current or previous years. It is also
forbidden to use any solutions to similar problems from previous years as reference material. No marks
will be awarded in case of similar submissions.
5. If you find a solution of a test problem in a book or online, cite it in your submission and DO NOT
COPY IT AS IT IS, but make changes which demonstrate you understand what you are writing.
Otherwise I may not accept it.
6. Your answers will be tested for plagiarism using the anti-plagiarism software for similarity checking and
once proved that your work is plagiarized it will be rejected and no marks awarded.
7. Make an effort to make your submission clear and readable. Severe read-ability issues may be penalized
by grade.
8. Submit your answer booklet before the due date, late submissions will not be accepted. Network
problems will not be accepted as a reason for late submission, make proper arrangements and submit
your exam in time.

SECTION A : ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS (40 MARKS)

1. Simulation is a slow, iterative, experimental problem-solving technique. Sometimes it is referred to as the
method of last resort. State 5 situations when it is appropriate to employ simulation as a problem solving
method. [5 marks]

2. Differentiate between the following [8 marks]

a. Deterministic and stochastic models

b. Static and dynamic models

c. Physical and symbolic models

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 d. Discrete and continuous systems

3. The usual objective of a queuing model is to determine how to provide service to customers in such a
way that an efficient operation is achieved. Briefly explain 3 performance measures that can be used to
determine the efficiency of operations in queuing systems [6 marks]

4. Briefly explain the following :

a. when it is appropriate to use the Monte Carlo Simulation mentioning the nature of variables found
in such a simulation. [5 marks]

b. when it is appropriate to use the Bernoulli distribution [1 mark]

c. how to generate Bernoulli distribution random variables with Excel sheets [2 marks]

5. Use the hospital scenario : System (hospital); Entity (patient) and Server (Doctor).

a. Use a data flow diagram to clearly explain how the queuing system operates [4 marks]

b. Use the scenario to briefly explain the following queuing system terminologies
i. Queuing discipline [3 marks]
ii. Arrival pattern - [2 marks]
c. Briefly illustrate two types of queuing disciplines : Queuing disciplines [4 marks]

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 SECTION B : CHOOSE THREE QUESTIONS FROM THIS SECTION (60 MARKS)

Question 6 : The essence or purpose of simulation modeling is to help the ultimate decision-maker solve a
problem. Therefore, to learn to be a good simulation modeler, one must merge good problem solving
techniques with good software engineering practice.
a. Highlight three key questions that need to be answered during the Problem definition and Project
Planning phase. [6 marks]
b. Highlight three key issues you need to consider during the documentation of a simulation study
[3 marks]

c. The old cliché “garbage in – garbage out” applies to simulation models as well and therefore having
good data to drive the model is important. State five potential sources of data collected during the
preliminary experimental design and data preparation stage. [5 marks]

d. and produces numbers does not guarantee that it is correct or that the numbers generated are
representative of the system being modeled. It is therefore necessary to have the model validated and
verified. Briefly explain what is entailed in i) model validation ii) model verification
[6 marks]

Question 7 : Gatsby Biogas Factory wants to build a new compost reservoir. The compost is kept for a year
before it is processed. The factory wants to know how large the reservoir will be in a year so that it can plan
ahead and allocate enough space for all of the compost that will be dumped into the reservoir. The factory
predicts that the compost will be dumped at a rate of 600Kg twice a month for the first four months. The rate
at which the compost is dumped will then be increased to 1,400 Kg per month for the next four months and
then stabilise at a rate of 1000Kg for the remaining four months. The initial value of the level (stock) is zero
(0). Use uniform rates in your answer. Marks will not be awarded for inaccurate graphs.
a) Write the rate equation for the above scenario. [2 marks)

b) Draw the rate graph. [3 marks]

c) Draw the stock graph. (show the working) [6 marks]

d) State how occupied the reservoir will be in the 12th month. [1 marks]

e) Based on the results obtained, what is your advice to management [3 marks]

f) Suppose the rate of last two months reduces to 700Kg every month instead of the anticipated 1000Kg.
Write the rate equation and state how occupied the reservoir will be at the end of the year.
[5 marks]

Question 8 : For simplicity assume that Spear Motors repairs M-Benz vehicles which arrive every 15
minutes on Saturdays. There are two service bays at the garage, each with its own mechanic. All vehicles get
an oil change for 10,000/= which takes 10 minutes and a tune-up for 50,000/= which takes 10 minutes to do.
All vehicles get a new air filter which takes 5 minutes and costs 20,000. All vehicles get a brake inspection,
which is free but takes 15 minutes to carry out. All the vehicles are fitted with spark plugs costing 20,000/=

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 and takes 15 minutes to fit. All cars have a full brake service which takes 5 minutes to complete and costs
75,000/=. Perform a hand simulation for the garage for a four hour morning session (8.00am – 12.00pm).
Assume that the first vehicle arrives at 8.00am. At 12.00 pm the garage does not start work on a new
vehicle but only completes work on those vehicles that are already being serviced.
a) Use the scenario to describe a multiple channel, multiple phase /server system [2 marks]

b) Draw a table to demonstrate the events of the service facility [8 marks]

c) How many vehicles are serviced by the garage in the morning session (8-12pm)?

d) How much money is made by the garage in the morning session?

e) At what time should the garage stop vehicles from joining the queue?

f) Determine the average waiting time

g) Determine the maximum waiting time

h) Use the average waiting time and maximum waiting time to advise management on how to improve the
service at the garage.

Question 9 : Kampala Mixed Farm has found out that there is a growing demand for fish and therefore
would like to be the leading supplier in Uganda. The management of KMF has asked you to build a model
that will show the fries (young ones), adult fish and total fish population for the next 10 months to enable
them plan the dam capacity. As a systems analyst you have gathered some information and found out the
following:
• There are 1000 fries and 2000 adult fish
• 1% of the fries and 2% of adult fish die every month
• Birth rate is 2% of the adult population
• Growth rate : It takes 2 months for a fry to become an adult fish
• The adult fish are harvested at a rate of 3% of the adult fish
a. Stocks, flows, connectors and converters are building blocks used in dynamic modeling with STELLA.
Use examples from this scenario to explain what each block represents. [4 marks]
b. For each stock write equations for the inflows and outflows [6 marks]
c. Draw a stock and flow diagram for this scenario [10 marks]

Question 10 : Two scenarios are provided below. Graph A represents the population of Small-Town in USA
while Graph B represents the population of Dilapidated – village in USA. Use the graphs to answer the
questions below:

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 Graph A – Small-Town, USA Graph B- Dilapidated – Village, USA

a. Describe the behavior of the variables of Small-Town, USA for the twelve years (3 marks)

b. Briefly explain why the population of Small-Town increases [2 marks]

c. Briefly explain why the population of Dilapidated-Village decreases [2 marks]

d. Compare Graph A and B. Compare the variables and explain how Graph A differs from Graph B ?
How is the Small –Town different from the Dilapidated –Village ? [4 marks]

e. Draw a Stock and Flow Diagram to represent the model in Graph A [5 marks]

f. Write the rate equation for the

a. Small-Town USA model
b. Dilapilated- Village model

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