Question

A certain product is comprised of two components: X and Y. Component X has a failure rate of one in every ten years, while Y's failure rate is one in every five years.

What is the probability that component X will fail?

Answer 1

The probability that component X will fail is 0.1 or 10% per year, based on the failure rate provided which is one in every ten years.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question regarding the failure rates of two components, X and Y, is a probability problem dealing with the likelihood of each component failing over a given time period. The failure rate of component X is one in every ten years. This can be translated to a failure probability of 0.1 (or 10%) per year, assuming that failures are evenly distributed over time and that each year is an independent event.

Mathematically, the probability P that component X will fail in any given year can be expressed as P(X) = 1/10 = 0.1. This does not imply that the component will fail precisely at the end of every ten-year period, but rather it indicates that on average, over a long period or across many instances of component X, its failure is expected once every ten years.