Deck 13: Simulation and Modeling

Question 1

We model the behavior of a system only at an explicit and finite set of times.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Most simulations produce tens or hundreds of thousands of lines of ____________________.

Answer 2

output

Question 3

We can experiment on the model and use these results to understand the behavior of the actual system.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A model must be an accurate representation of the physical system, but at the same time, it must be simple enough to implement as a program or set of equations and solve on a computer in a reasonable amount of time.

Question 5

Computational models can only be graphed and never use three dimensional images.

Question 6

One way to discover a pattern is to know something about the statistical distribution of quantities that behave in a similar way. _________________________

Question 7

Computational steering is usually feasible  using physical models. _________________________

Question 8

It is possible to discover the same features displayed in a graph from a textual representation of the output of a model, but it would probably take much more time.

Question 9

Scientists often work with a model of a system rather than experimenting on the "real thing."

Question 10

The very essence of randomness is that we can never know what event will occur next. _________________________

Question 11

In a computer simulation, a physical system is modeled as a set of mathematical equations and/or algorithmic procedures that capture the fundamental characteristics and behavior of a system. _________________________

Question 12

Some physical models have serious moral and ethical consequences.

Question 13

Interpreting a graph is a great deal easier than working directly with ____________________.

Question 14

The ____________________ is the fundamental way to obtain new scientific knowledge and understanding.

Question 15

In a(n)____________________ event simulation, we model time as continuous.

Question 16

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

Question 17

Computational models are an excellent way to design new systems and to improve the behavior of existing systems.

Question 18

It is certainly a lot easier to work with a numerical description of data than a visualization.

Question 19

Virtually every branch of science and engineering makes use of ____________________.

Question 20

We always know, in a mathematical sense, exactly how to describe certain types of systems and behaviors.

Question 21

The throw of the dice or the drawing of a card, if looked at programmatically, may be considered a __________.

A)stochastic component
B)static component
C)deterministic component
D)conventional component

Question 22

The dictum ____ says that the results you get out of a simulation model are only as good as the data and the assumptions put into the model.

A)garbage in, garbage out
B)first in, first out
C)last in, last out
D)first in, last out

Question 23

It is the ____ of a model who best determines what data should be collected and displayed.

A)designer
B)engineer
C)user
D)consumer

Question 24

If we know the ____, then the computer can generate a sequence of random numbers that follows this pattern, and this sequence accurately models the time it takes to serve customers in real life.

A)probabilistic distribution
B)statistical distribution
C)random distribution
D)normalized distribution

Question 25

When we process an event, we change the ____ of the simulated system in the same way that the actual system would change if this event had occurred in real life.

A)event
B)parameter
C)condition
D)state

Question 26

The field of ____ is concerned with the issue of how to visualize data in a way that highlights its important characteristics and simplifies its interpretation.

A)scientific simulation
B)numerical simulation
C)numeric visualization
D)scientific visualization

Question 27

A ____ is a representation of the system being studied, which we claim behaves much like the original.

A)problem
B)concept
C)replica
D)model

Question 28

The use of ____ becomes even more important as the amount of output increases and grows more complex.

A)data
B)models
C)visualizations
D)renderings

Question 29

A ____ is one of the most popular and widely used techniques for building computer models.

A)discrete event analysis
B)disconnected event simulation
C)discrete event simulation
D)general event simulation

Question 30

____ is a design approach that says only when we think we have created the best design possible would we actually build it.

A)Computational decomposition
B)Computational analysis
C)Computational steering
D)Computational methodology

Question 31

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

A)Data distribution
B)Data analysis
C)Data interpretation
D)Data manipulation

Question 32

____ is concerned with the technical issues involved in information display, meaning that it deals with the actual algorithms for rendering a screen image.

A)Scientific visualization
B)Computer graphics
C)Engineering graphics
D)Scientific graphics

Question 33

A model of a business in which customers walk into the store at random times employs a model that uses ____ rather than precise and exact equations.

A)probabilistic approximations
B)numerical approximations
C)statistical approximations
D)algebraic approximations

Question 34

Simulation model is another term for ___________ model.

A)computational
B)situation
C)replication
D)reproduction

Question 35

In a ____, we write out a set of explicit mathematical equations that describes the behavior of a system as a continuous function of time t.

A)composite model
B)unit model
C)decomposed model
D)continuous model

Question 36

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

A)pseudo random number
B)predictable random number
C)uniform random number
D)deterministic random number

Question 37

The clever use of visual enhancements such as ____ can make an enormous difference in how easy or hard it is to interpret the output of a computer model.

A)color and scale
B)size and perspective
C)size and time
D)color and time

Question 38

If we are not happy with our original design using a(n)____, we only need to change some numerical parameters and rerun the model.

A)physical model
B)simulation
C)virtual model
D)equation

Question 39

_______ is one of the most powerful and useful forms of scientific visualization.

A)Image enhancement
B)Image manipulation
C)Image animation
D)Image virtualization

Question 40

When a system contains stochastic components, it means that there are parts of the system that display _______ behavior.

A)specific
B)random
C)predictable
D)conventional

Question 41

Discuss computational steering and its benefits.

Question 42

Providing an example, discuss image animation as a form of scientific visualization.

Question 43

Modeling is not quite as simple in practice as it is in theory. What are the issues that must be addressed and solved to make the technique of building simulations workable? Use the example of Galileo's 16th-century experiment dropping balls from the Tower of Pisa within your answer.

Question 44

What is the difference between computer graphics and scientific visualization?

Question 45

Discuss how you can discover whether or not a value (number of customers served in a restaurant)follows a statistical distribution.

Question 46

If a value in a simulation model behaves in a random fashion but follows a statistical distribution pattern, what are the implications of this?

Question 47

Discuss the advantages of using a computer model over a physical model.

Question 48

How can the field of scientific visualization be enhanced by computer graphics?

Question 49

What about stochastic components makes some systems difficult to model?

Question 50

Discuss at length some of the ethical reasoning for using computational models over physical models. What sorts of physical models may pose an ethical dilemma?