Office Use Only

Semester One 2023

Mid-Semester Test Mock questions

Faculty of Engineering

EXAM CODES: CIV2282

TITLE OF PAPER: TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING - PAPER 1

EXAM DURATION: 1 hour_ weeks 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7.

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: 20

READING TIME: N/A

QUESTION 1

A traffic stream has a flow of 900 vehicles per hour, and an average spacing between vehicles of 50 metres.
What is the time-mean speed of the traffic stream? Week 1
A. 18 kilometres per hour
B. Somewhat more than 18 kilometres per hour
C. Somewhat less than 45 kilometres per hour
D. 45 kilometres per hour
E. Somewhat more than 45 kilometres per hour
F. Unable to be estimated from this information

QUESTION 2

Choose all true options below which present the most noticeable difference between an automatic
teller machine and a hospital emergency room in the sense of queuing systems (full marks will be
granted only if all correct answers are selected, no partial marks will be awarded):
A. the distribution of arrivals;
B. the average service time duration;
C. the queue discipline;
D. the channel configuration;
E. the types of service;

QUESTION 3

The minor stream vehicles at a stop-sign intersection need a three-second headway in the major
stream to cross the road. It is known that the probability that a minor stream vehicle can cross the
road through the available gap in the major stream is 36.8%. Which options below best describe the
major stream volume?

A) 1200 vehicles per hour

B) 900 vehicles per hour

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 C) 1500 vehicles per hour
D) 400 vehicles per hour
E) None of the other answers are correct.

q= -ln(0.368)/3*3600

QUESTION 4

It is predicted that the probability that the tunnel will experience at least 2 accidents next week is
60%. Which options below best describes the average weekly accident rate of this tunnel (assuming
a Poisson distribution)?
A. 1.2
B. 1.4
C. 1.6
D. 1.8
E. 2.0

P(x>=2) = 1-P(x=0)-P(x=1)=0.6. Solving this to get m~=2.

QUESTION 5

Small cargo ships begin to arrive at a local port at 8:30 AM with an arrival rate of λ(t) = 4 - 0.01t
(where t is in hours and λ(t) is in ships per hour). The port opens at 9:00 AM and processes ships at
a rate of 12 per hour throughout the day. Assuming D/D/1 queueing, which option below best
describes the time the queue will dissipate?

A. 9:12 AM
B. 9:15 AM
C. 9:17 AM
D. 9:19 AM
E. 9:21 AM
F. None of the other answers

A(t) = 4t-0.005t^2
D(t) = 0 (t<=0.5) and D(t) = 12(t-0.5) (t>=0.5)
Set A(t) = D(t) to get t = 0.75 which leads to 9:15AM

QUESTION 6

Referring to the question 5 above, what will be the total delay?

A. 0.75 ships hour

B. 1.15 ships hour
C. 1.25 ships hour
D. 1.50 ships hour
E. 1.75 ships hour

0.5 0.75

Total delay = ∫ ( 4 t−0.005 t ) dt + ∫ ( 4 t−0.005 t −12t +6 ) dt=0.75

2 2

0 0.5

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QUESTION 7

An entrance to a private car park requires drivers to approach a boom gate and touch a RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) tag on to a tag reader, then wait for the boom gate to raise before driving
through. The entire process takes 20 seconds for every vehicle. During the morning peak period,
vehicles arrive at a Poisson-distributed rate of 150 vehicles per hour.

What is the average number of vehicles either waiting in the queue?

A) 150
B) 180
C) 2.92
D) 0.83

Arrival Rate, λ = 150 veh/h

Service Rate, µ = 3600/20 = 180 veh/h
Utilisation Ratio, ρ = 150/180 = 0.833<1

N = (ρ(2- ρ)) / (2(1- ρ)) =2.92

QUESTION 8

Referring to question 7, what is the average time spent by vehicle drivers in the system
(waiting or being served)?

A) 20 seconds
B) 30 seconds
C) 50 seconds
D) 70 seconds
E) 90 seconds

QUESTION 9

A minor approach at a signalized T-intersection has two lanes, one for left turn traffic and the other
for right turn traffic. The two movements have right of way in one phase with an effective green of
20 seconds and a cycle time (which is the red time+ green time) of 60 seconds. Saturation flows
were calculated to be 1800 veh/h/lane for both movements. Assume in one cycle, vehicle arrives at
a rate of 1200 veh/h, 40% turning left and 60% turning right. There is no residue queue from the
previous cycle. This cycle starts from red. Assume deterministic vehicle arrival and departure. For
the right turn movement, what is the maximum delay?
A) 20 seconds
B) 40 seconds
C) 60 seconds
D) 80 seconds
E) None of the other answers

Max delay = red time

QUESTION 10

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Referring to question 9, for the right turn movement, what is the maximum queue length in
this cycle?

A) 8 vehicles
B) 10 vehicles
C) 12 vehicles
D) 2 vehicles
E) None of the other answers

Max queue length = A(t=40) – D(t=40) = 0.2*40 = 8

QUESTION 11

Referring to question 9, what is the total delay in vehicle-seconds?

A. 160 vehicle-seconds
B. 260 vehicle-seconds
C. 360 vehicle-seconds
D. 460 vehicle-seconds
E. 500 vehicle-seconds

Total delay =1/2*8*40 +1/2*(8+2)*20

QUESTION 12

Referring to question 9, for the right turn movement, what is the average vehicle delay in this
signal cycle?
A) 20.4
B) 40.6 seconds
C) 21.7 seconds
D) 13 seconds
E) 6.5 seconds

Average delay = Total delay/ number of arrivals = 260/12 = 21.7 sec.

QUESTION 13

The capacity of a roundabout approach is calculated using a formula similar to that used for an
unsignalised intersection. Enhancements are added to the formula to allow for which option(s)
below:

A) Speed drops due to the curvature of the approaching lanes

B) Traffic only circulating in one direction, and the wider lanes needed to handle turning
vehicles
C) Pedestrians crossing at the roundabout and entering traffic being less likely to stop
D) The presence of metering signals ensuring that the dominant traffic stream is unobstructed
E) None of the other answers

QUESTION 14

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A triangular flow-density relationship has the following parameters:
 Capacity (i.e. maximum flow): 2000 veh/h
 Critical density (i.e. the density at the which the capacity happens): 20 veh/km
 Jam density (i.e. the density at which the flow is 0): 120 veh/km

During the peak hour, a speed limit of 80 km/h is imposed in an attempt to reduce the traffic
congestion. What will be the maximum flow when such speed limit is imposed?
A) 1600 veh/h
B) 1920 veh/h
C) 1800 veh/h
D) 2000 veh/h

QUESTION 15

Four vehicles are travelling around a circular track at different, but constant speeds of 30 km/h, 60 km/h, 80
km/h and 100 km/h respectively. If the track is 8 km in length, what is the flow observed at a fixed location on
the test track in 1 hour?

A. 4 veh/h
B. 0.5 veh/h
C. 33.75 veh/h
D. unable to be determined without information on speed

Flow = 30/8 + 60/8 + 80/8 + 100/8 = 33.75 veh/h.

QUESTION 16

The spacing (or space headway) between two vehicles can be measured as:
A) the time interval between when the back of one vehicle and the front of the next vehicle
pass a fixed roadside point
B) the distance between the front of two consecutive vehicles as they pass a fixed roadside
point
C) the distance between the back of one vehicle and the front of the next vehicle as they pass a fixed
roadside point
D) the time interval between fronts of two consecutive vehicles passing a fixed roadside point
E) None of the other answers

QUESTION 17

At a specified point on a bicycle path, bicycles are assumed to arrive according to a Poisson
probability distribution. Bicycles are counted in 15 second intervals for a period of 30 minutes. It is
noted that no bicycles arrived in 30 of those 120 intervals.

Which options below best present the expected number of bicycles in any one-minute period?

A. 120 bikes per minute

B. 30 bikes per minute
C. 1.39 bikes per minutes

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 D. 5.56 bikes per minutes
E. 0.25 bikes per minutes

Use Poisson distribution:

There are 120 intervals of 15 s in 30 min. No (0) cars arrive in 30/120 intervals:
30/120 = 1/4 = P(X=0) = exp(-λ)×λ0/0! = exp(-λ)
Thus λ = –ln(1/4) = ln(4)=1.39
Thus, in a time of t = 15 seconds, we expect 1.39 bicycles to arrive.
The expected number in one minute = 1.39 × 4 = 5.56

QUESTION 18

Referring to question 17, which options below best describes the number of these 120
intervals having exactly two bicycles arriving?

A. 4
B. 8
C. 15
D. 29
E. None of the other answers

Poisson distribution:
From above, λ = 1.39
P(X = 2 | λ) = exp(–1.39) × 1.392 / (2×1) = 0.24
N(X = 2) = 120 × 0.24 = 28.8

QUESTION 19

A theme park has a single entrance gate where visitors must stop and pay for parking. The average
arrival rate during the peak hour is 200 veh/h. It takes on average 15 seconds for each driver to pay
for parking. Unfortunately, when you arrive, you see a queue of vehicles at the entrance. Upon your
joining the queue, how many vehicles on average would you expect to be ahead of you in the queue
(assuming the M/M/1 model)?

A) 2 vehicles
B) 3.2 vehicles
C) 4.2 vehicles
D) 5 vehicles
E) None of the other answers

Note that we are looking for the number of vehicles ahead in the queue. This is one less than the
number in the queue.

Q = rho^2/(1-rho) = 4.2

QUESTION 20

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A single channel queue forms at the entrance to an off-street parking area. Arrivals are random, at
an average rate of 300 vehicles per hour, and the time required for the service process of removing
the time-card from the control box and driving past the boom gate is also random and averages 10
seconds per vehicle. In order to accommodate the queuing vehicles in 90% of cases, which option
below best describes the storage space that should there be in front of the boom barrier?

A) sufficient for 360 vehicles

B) sufficient for the vehicle being served and one vehicle waiting behind that vehicle
C) sufficient for at least 300 vehicles
D) sufficient for 9 vehicles
E) at least able to hold 13 vehicles

Arrival rate = 300

Service rate = 3600/10 =360

Rho = 300/360 = 0.833

N = [log(0.1)/log(Rho)] = [12.6] = 13

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