Smeed's law

High school (ages 12+)
Mathematics & Numbers

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/smeed-s-law

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the year of proposal?1949
2. What is the proposer?Reuben Smeed, statistician
3. Why does having more cars sometimes mean fewer accidents per car?Smeed thought that when many cars are close together, drivers watch out more and drive more carefully, which can lower the chance of a serious crash.
4. How does Smeed think traffic speed stays about nine miles per hour?He guessed that in busy places like London, cars would slow to about nine miles per hour because drivers get annoyed if they go faster.

Empirical Rule: A principle based on observation and experience rather than theory or pure logic.
Traffic Congestion: A state where the volume of traffic exceeds road capacity, leading to reduced speeds and increased travel times.
Fatalities Per Capita: The number of deaths within a population group, normalized by the total population size.
Induced Demand: The phenomenon where increased supply or reduced cost of a service leads to increased demand for that service.