Suppose you work at an amusement park. Your boss has asked you to determine the "people current," a measurement of moving people coming through the entrance of the park.
a) what would be the units of "people current?"
b) what information would "people current" provide?
c) explain how it would be possible to have a higher current but a lower average speed at one time and a lower current but higher average speed at another time.
Thank you!
a) The units of "people current" could be measured as the number of people per unit of time, such as people per minute or people per hour.
b) "People current" would provide information about the rate or flow of people entering the amusement park. It indicates how many people are entering the park during a specific period of time.
c) To understand how it is possible to have a higher current but a lower average speed at one time and a lower current but higher average speed at another time, let's consider an analogy with the flow of water in a river.
At one time, imagine a wide river with a strong current. In this scenario, a larger number of people (higher current) are entering the amusement park, but they might be moving at a slower pace (lower average speed). This could happen if there are bottlenecks, such as ticket checks or security checks, that slow down the flow of people even though there are many entering the park.
In contrast, at another time, imagine a narrower river with a faster current. In this case, the number of people entering the amusement park is smaller (lower current), but they could be moving at a faster pace (higher average speed). This might occur when there are no significant bottlenecks, allowing a smoother flow of people, but fewer individuals overall.
Therefore, the relationship between "people current" and average speed can vary depending on factors like bottlenecks, crowd management, and capacity limitations that impact the flow of people entering the park.