More often than desired, engineers are required to estimate quantities related t

Question

More often than desired, engineers are required to estimate quantities related to some aspect of a system because the necessary data is not available. Systems engineers often have to estimate quantities related to the meta-system. There has been quite a bit of attention to estimation in K-12; a common example is to estimate the number of gas stations in the 48 continental states of the United States.

a) How would you go about this? What are several ways to estimate this quantity? Besides information about how many people there are in the U.S. or how many cars there are in the U.S., what other information do you know that might be related to the number of gasoline stations?

b) Search the web and make a list of ways that other people have tackled this problem. Does this

list give you any new ideas? What are they?

Explanation / Answer

By tag on car method

Road side interview method

By postal card method

By origin and destination studies

By the count of number of vehicles

By the length of the stretch of the road

By the types of vehicle moving on the stretch

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