Jolt - M
The soda machines outside the lecture hall sees a steady stream of customers throughout the day. Between the student's use of the machine and the mechanism, it takes 15 seconds (exponentially distributed) to deliver a can of carbonated sugar water to a thirsty customer. Over the course of a twelve-hour lecture day, students arrive at the rate of 450 per hour.
It is precisely two minutes before class begins when Lisa decides to buy a soda. The professor has a well-deserved reputation for locking out everyone that is even a second late. Undeterred, Lisa makes a beeline for the machines, their eerie glow and soothing hum calling to her almost as much as the promise of an ice cold beverage. "I'm pretty sure I can make it," she remarks to a classmate as she gets in line for a soda, "and if I'm late, all I need to do is bat my eyelashes at him and he'll open the door and even apologize for shutting it in the first place." What will be the result of Lisa's decision to purchase a soda before class?
• Lisa will easily make it to her seat with a refreshing soda, entering the room twenty seconds before class begins.
• Lisa will march into the lecture hall triumphantly holding her soda aloft a full twelve seconds before class begins.
• Lisa will need to start batting those eyelashes, because she's almost four seconds late for class.
• Lisa will need to shift those eyelashes into overdrive as she is more than fourteen seconds late for class. However, at least she has a soda.
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