On weekend nights, a large urban hospital has an average of 4.8 emergency arrivals per hour. Let X be the number of arrivals per hour on a weekend night at this hospital. Assume that successive arrivals are random and independent.
Which distribution does X follow?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The situation described fits the Poisson distribution, which models the number of events occurring in a fixed amount of time given a known average rate of occurrence. The events are assumed to be random and independent, and the parameter in this case is the average rate of 4.8 arrivals per hour.

On Weekend Nights, a Large Urban Hospital Has an Average