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%, approximately how long will it take to produce the first 20 engines?
A) 8388 hours
B) 665 hours
C) 8083 hours
D) 310 hours
E) 10,000 or more hours

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The learning curve theory suggests that the time required to produce subsequent units decreases at a constant rate as more units are produced. With an 80% learning curve, each new engine produced takes 80% of the time it took to produce the previous one. To calculate the total time for the first 20 engines, we use the formula for the sum of a geometric series. The first engine takes 800 hours, and each subsequent engine takes 80% of the time of the previous one. The total time for 20 engines can be calculated using the learning curve formula, leading to approximately 8388 hours.

A Defense Contractor Has Just Started Producing Engines for a New