Two bus companies, SprintBus and SteadyLine, serve the same route. Passenger wait time, in minutes, is modeled by density \(f\) for SprintBus and density \(g\) for SteadyLine:
\(f(x)=\frac{3}{8}x^2\) for \(0\le x\le 2\)
\(g(x)=\frac{3}{8}(x-2)^2\) for \(0\le x\le 2\).
Both functions are \(0\) outside \([0, 2]\), and their graphs are shown.
a) Show algebraically that both functions are valid probability densities.
b) For each company, find the probability that a passenger waits longer than \(1\) minute.
c) Find the mean wait time for each model. Which company would you prefer when minimizing expected wait time?

Hints
- A probability density must be nonnegative and integrate to \(1\).
- Find each interval probability by integrating the corresponding density.
- For a continuous random variable, \(E(X)=\int x f(x)\,dx\).
- The graph's area concentration can help you anticipate which model has the smaller mean.
Solution
1. a) Both functions are nonnegative on \([0, 2]\). Also, \(\int_0^2\frac{3}{8}x^2\,dx=1\) and \(\int_0^2\frac{3}{8}(x-2)^2\,dx=1\), so both are valid densities.
2. b) For SprintBus, \(P(X>1)=1-\int_0^1\frac{3}{8}x^2\,dx=1-\frac{1}{8}=\frac{7}{8}=0.875\). For SteadyLine, \(P(X>1)=\int_1^2\frac{3}{8}(x-2)^2\,dx=\frac{1}{8}=0.125\).
3. c) For SprintBus, \(E(X)=\int_0^2x\frac{3}{8}x^2\,dx=1.5\) minutes. For SteadyLine, \(E(X)=\int_0^2x\frac{3}{8}(x-2)^2\,dx=0.5\) minute. SteadyLine has the smaller mean wait time.
Answer
a) Both functions are nonnegative and integrate to \(1\) on \([0, 2]\).
b) SprintBus: \(0.875\), or \(87.5\%\); SteadyLine: \(0.125\), or \(12.5\%\)
c) SprintBus: \(1.5\) minutes; SteadyLine: \(0.5\) minute. SteadyLine is preferable when minimizing expected wait time.