1. The city of Clearview has decided to review how it handles the flow of tourists at Tourist Tower, the city's most popular attraction. Arriving tourists board one of the two identical elevators. Each elevator stops at two observation levels - Level 1 at a height of 100 feet, and Level 2 at a height of 400 feet. After spending time enjoying the view(s), tourists take one of the elevators back down to the ground.
The manager of the tower has observed a number of things about the way this system operates. Each elevator makes a round trip from the ground to Level 1, then to Level 2, back down to Level 1, then back down to the ground. Each elevator can hold up to 30 people, and can make this trip (including time to load and unload) in 10 minutes.
Each observation level has limited capacity outside on the viewing platform. Tourists who cannot fit wait inside until space is available. On Level 1, the capacity of the platform is 100 people, while the capacity on Level 2 is 75 people. There is no capacity limit on the inside waiting areas on either level. On average, 30% of the tourists only visit Level 1 and return to the ground, while 70% visit both levels. On a typical day, the average tourist visiting Level 1 spends 15 minutes on the viewing platform, while the average tourist visiting Level 2 spends 20 minutes on the platform.
What is the average number of tourists per hour that can be handled by each of the following?
The elevators _____________________
Level 1 Platform _____________________
Level 2 Platform _____________________
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2. The manager is concerned about large crowds building up in the waiting areas on each of the observation levels. If the elevators operate at full capacity, and ignoring any variability in arrival or processing rates, will crowds tend to build up in the observation waiting areas? If yes for either level (or both), how many minutes should be allowed to elapse between the beginning of each elevator trip in order to avoid crowds at either level?
Crowds tend to build up at Level 1 (yes/no) _________
Crowds tend to build up at Level 2 (yes/no) _________
Minutes required between elevator trips ____________
Supporting work: