A start-up firm has kept careful records of the time required to manufacture its product, a shutoff valve used in gasoline pipelines.

a. Compute the logarithms of the numbers in each column. (Use natural logs)
b. Graph the In (hours) against the In (cumulative units) and eyeball a straight-line fit of the data. Using your approximate fit, estimate a and b.
c. Using the results of part (b), estimate the time required to produce the first unit and the appropriate percentage learning curve that fits these data.
d. Repeat parts (b) and (c), but use an exact least squares fit of the logarithms computed in part (a).

Transcribed Image Text:

Cumulative Number of Units Produced Number of Hours Required for Next Unit 50 3.3 100 2.2 400 1.0 600 0.8 1,000 0.5 10,000 0.2