What is the time needed to produce the last unit when production doubles from 100 units to the 200 unit level, given that the incremental unit time learning model has a 60% learning curve, and the corresponding time at the 100 unit level of production is 4.0 minutes?
A)8.0 minutes
B)6.4 minutes
C)4.0 minutes
D)2.4 minutes
E)1.6 minutes

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The incremental unit time learning model with a 60% learning curve means that each time production quantity doubles, the time per unit decreases by 40%.

So, for the first doubling from 100 to 200 units, the time per unit will be 60% of the original time of 4.0 minutes, which is (0.6 x 4.0) = 2.4 minutes.

Using the formula for time in the incremental unit time learning model:

T2 = T1 x (N2/N1)^log0.6
where T1 is the initial time per unit, N1 is the initial quantity, N2 is the new quantity, and log0.6 is the logarithm of the learning curve factor.

Plugging in the values:
T2 = 4.0 x (200/100)^log0.6
T2 = 4.0 x 2^log0.6
T2 = 4.0 x 2^-0.2218
T2 = 2.4 minutes

Therefore, the time needed to produce the last unit when production doubles from 100 units to the 200 unit level is 2.4 minutes. So, the answer is D.

What Is the Time Needed to Produce the Last Unit