A defence contractor has just started producing turbines for a new government contract. The first turbine took 7000 hours to produce. If the learning curve is 90%, how long will it take to produce the 10th turbine? (Use at least three decimals in the exponent if you use the logarithmic approach.)
A) less than 4800 hours
B) from 4800 to 4900 hours
C) from 4900 to 5000 hours
D) from 5000 to 5100 hours
E) over 5100 hours

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The learning curve formula is Y = A * X^b, where Y is the time for the Xth unit, A is the time for the first unit, X is the unit number, and b is the learning curve exponent. For a 90% learning curve, b = log(0.9)/log(2) ≈ -0.152. For the 10th turbine, Y = 7000 * 10^(-0.152) ≈ 4951 hours, which falls in the range of 4900 to 5000 hours.

A Defence Contractor Has Just Started Producing Turbines for a New