Exam 12: Simulation and Modeling

Building a good model can be a difficult task that requires us to capture, in computational form, all the important factors that influence the behavior of a system.

In the scientific method, we observe the behavior of a system and formulate a hypothesis that tries to explain its behavior.

A(n) ____ is any activity that changes the state of a system.

Galileo found that when you drop two balls of differing weights at the same time, then the heavier ball will fall faster.

____ is a visualization technique that allows us to observe how the model's output changes over time.

The field of ____ is concerned with the technical issues involved in information display.

____ deals with determining which data values are important and should be part of the visual display.

The fundamental way to obtain new scientific knowledge and understanding is through the use of intuition.

It is possible to discover the same features from a ____ representation as a visual representation of the output, but it would probably take much more time.

The time it takes for two balls dropped from a 54-meter high tower to hit the ground, assuming that their initial velocity is 0.0, is ____ seconds. (Gravity is assumed to be 9.8 meters/sec² everywhere along the earth's surface.)

One way to know a statistical distribution of a random system is to know something about the statistical distribution of quantities that behave in a similar way.

Simulations cannot model fractions of a second or billions of years.

Computational models should generally include every conceivable factor that is involved in the real situation.

A possible reason to construct a simulation model is that it is faster to design the computer simulation than the physical model.

The ____ is a random integer that takes one of the values 1,2,3, ... 100 with equal likelihood.

Computational modeling is arguably the most important scientific usage of computers.

A model can use ____ rather than precise exact equations to compensate for randomness.

____ consists of looking for ways to convert data to other forms or to different units that will make the display easier to understand and interpret.

When processing an event in a discrete event simulation, we change the state of the simulated system in the same way that the actual system would change if the event occurred.

Stochastic values can be known with certainty.