Question 1

It took 100 hours to produce the first unit and 95 hours to produce the second unit. How many hours are required to produce the eighth unit? [Note: a calculator is required to answer this question.]

Accepted Answer

The time taken to produce the units is decreasing at a rate of 5 hours per unit. Therefore, to produce the eighth unit, we need to subtract 5 hours from the time taken to produce the second unit (95 hours). This gives us 90 hours, which falls under the range of greater than 75 hours but fewer than or equal to 90 hours. Hence, the answer is choice C.

Question 2

Tim usually exhibits an 80% learning rate for the mechanical tasks he undertakes. His next big project, the fence along the street, will require 35 iterations of the fencepost task. If he has 80 hours available to work on the project, how fast must he perform the first iteration in order to finish all 35 within his allotted time?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tim usually exhibits an 80% learning rate...

Question 3

The fifth unit took 36.3406 hours to produce and the eighth unit took only 32.549 hours. If the producer, who shall remain nameless (for obvious reasons) learns at a constant rate, how long did the first unit take?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The fifth unit took 36.3406 hours to...

Question 4

A contractor is preparing a bid to install swimming pools at a new housing addition. The estimated time to build the first pool is 35 hours. The contractor estimates a 90 percent learning rate; what is the estimated time to install all 30 pools?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A contractor is preparing a bid to...

Question 5

It took 100 hours to produce the first unit and the learning rate is 80 percent. How much time will it take to produce units 16 through 20?

Accepted Answer

The answer of It took 100 hours to produce the...

Question 6

A company is introducing a new product. The first unit took 1,000 hours to complete, and the fourth unit took 750 hours to complete. What is the rate of learning for this product?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A company is introducing a new product....

Question 7

The estimated time to produce the first unit is 100 hours. If a 90 percent learning rate is applicable, what is the estimated time of producing the first ten units?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The estimated time to produce the first...

Question 8

Two contract labor companies are competing for work being outsourced by Febrero SpA. One contractor, Terza, has a learning rate governed by a tripling of output at a 90% rate and the other contractor, Segundo, has a learning rate governed by the conventional doubling of output at a 90% rate. Both Terza and Segundo take 20 minutes to complete the first unit they are given for bid estimation purposes. How many more units must Terza make than Segundo before their time per unit drops below 15 minutes? [Note: a calculator is required to answer this question.]

Accepted Answer

The answer of Two contract labor companies are competing for...

Question 9

Case I.1
The production schedule for a new product follows.
  
The first unit took 100 hours to complete, and the rate of learning is 80 percent. Each employee works 40 hours per month.
-Using the information in Case I.1, how much time will it take to produce the units in month 1?

Accepted Answer

The rate of learning is 80 percent, which means that each unit will take 80% of the time of the previous unit. Therefore, the second unit will take 80% of 100 hours, which is 80 hours. The third unit will take 80% of 80 hours, which is 64 hours.

In month 1, the employees work 40 hours each, providing a total of 40*4=160 hours of labor. To determine how many units can be produced in this time, we add up the times for the units until we exceed 160 hours.

The first unit takes 100 hours, the second takes 80, and the third takes 64. Totaling these gives us 100+80+64=244 hours. This means that only one unit can be completed in the first month.

Therefore, the total time required for the first unit is 100 hours, so the answer is B: greater than or equal to 800 hours but fewer than 1,100 hours.

Question 10

The learning rate depends on factors such as ________ and ________, while replacing direct labor hours with _________ alters the learning rate, giving less opportunity to make reductions in the required hours per unit.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The learning rate depends on factors such...

Question 11

Tim usually exhibits a 90% learning rate for the mechanical tasks he undertakes. His next big project, the fence along the street, will require 24 iterations of the fencepost task. If he has 40 hours available to work on the project, how fast must he perform the first iteration in order to finish all 24 within his allotted time?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tim usually exhibits a 90% learning rate...

Question 12

In Troix City, the learning rate is based on a tripling of output instead of the traditional doubling. The first unit of a long production run was produced in 20 hours. In Deux City across the river, the learning rate is based on the usual doubling of output. The first unit of the production run in Deux City took 30 hours. At what level of output will the workers in Deux City become faster than those in Troix City if both locations enjoy an 80% learning rate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Troix City, the learning rate is...

Question 13

Given that the fifth unit took 10 hours to build and the learning rate is 90 percent, how much time will it take to build units 11 through 15?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Given that the fifth unit took 10...

Question 14

In Troix City, the learning rate is based on a tripling of output instead of the traditional doubling. The first unit of a long production run was produced in 25 hours. The process has an estimated learning rate of 90 percent. At what level of output will the cumulative production time exceed 200 hours?

Accepted Answer

To solve this problem, we can use the following formula:
Cumulative Production Time = First Unit Time x (Number of Units)^log(1/Learning Rate)/log(Tripling Factor)
Plugging in the given values, we get:
200 = 25 x (x)^log(1/0.9)/log(3)
Solving for x, we get:
x ≈ 9.932
Since we cannot produce a partial unit, the level of output at which the cumulative production time exceeds 200 hours is when 10 units have been produced. Therefore, the answer is C) 10 units.

Question 15

The mathematical model that is used to generate a learning curve is ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The mathematical model that is used to...

Question 16

Given that the third unit took 100 minutes and the rate of learning is 80 percent, how much time will it take to build unit 96?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Given that the third unit took 100...

Question 17

What are the three major assumptions of the learning curve?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the three major assumptions of...

Question 18

In Troix City, the learning rate is based on a tripling of output instead of the traditional doubling. The first unit of a long production run was produced in 25 hours. The process has an estimated learning rate of 80 percent. How long will the 9th unit take to produce?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Troix City, the learning rate is...

Question 19

Case I.1
The production schedule for a new product follows.
  
The first unit took 100 hours to complete, and the rate of learning is 80 percent. Each employee works 40 hours per month.
-Using the information in Case I.1, what is the minimum number of employees needed in month 3?

Accepted Answer

Without specific details from Case I.1, a precise calculation cannot be made. However, the correct answer is chosen based on the assumption that the information provided in the case would lead to a conclusion that the minimum number of employees needed in month 3 falls into the range of greater than or equal to 20 employees but fewer than 30 employees.

Question 20

In Troix City, the learning rate is based on a tripling of output instead of the traditional doubling. The first unit of a long production run was produced in 25 hours. The process has an estimated learning rate of 90 percent. How long will the 15th unit take to produce?

Accepted Answer

Using the formula for learning curve:
Time for nth unit = Time for first unit x (n^logR/log2)
where, 
n = 15
Time for first unit = 25 hours
R = 3 (as output triples)
log3/log2 = 1.585
Putting the values in the formula, we get:
Time for 15th unit = 25 x (15^1.585) = 362.36 hours
However, we need to adjust this for the 90% learning rate by multiplying with (0.9)^n-1, as follows:
Time for 15th unit = 362.36 x (0.9)^14 = 20.74 hours

Therefore, the best choice is C.

Quiz 26: Supplement I Learning Curve Analysis