A defense contractor has just started producing engines for a new government contract. The first engine took 800 hours to produce. If the learning curve is 80%, how long will it take to produce the first 20 engines? (Use at least three decimals in the exponent if you use the logarithmic approach, or use Table E.3 cumulative coefficient)
A) less than or equal to 1000 hours
B) from 1000 to 8000 hours
C) from 8000 to 8500 hours
D) from 8500 to 10000 hours
E) 10,000 or more hours

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We can use the learning curve formula to find the time it takes to produce a certain number of engines:
T₂ = T₁ * (N₂/N₁)^log(0.8)

where T₁ is the time it takes to produce the first engine, N₁ is the quantity of engines produced when T₁ is reached, N₂ is the desired quantity of engines, and log(0.8) is the learning curve coefficient.

For the first 20 engines,
T₂ = 800 * (20/1)^log(0.8)
T₂ = 8552.049 hours

Therefore, the answer is choice C, from 8000 to 8500 hours.

A Defense Contractor Has Just Started Producing Engines for a New