Question

You are considering installing a new processing line at your plant. You have 3 stations that need machinery. The first station could use a flexible machine or an inflexible machine. The second station could use a labor-intensive machine or an automated machine. The third station has 18 possible configurations, based on an industrious supplier in Peru. How many different machine configurations could you consider for your new line?

a.3
b.8
c.18
d.72

Answer 1

The total number of different machine configurations is obtained by multiplying the number of options at each station: 2 (first station) × 2 (second station) × 18 (third station), which equals 72 configurations.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the number of different machine configurations for a new processing line, consider that there are independent choices for each station. For the first station, you have the choice between a flexible machine or an inflexible machine, which is 2 options. For the second station, the choice is between a labor-intensive machine or an automated machine, also 2 options. The third station has 18 possible configurations. The total number of different configurations is the product of the number of options for each station.

Therefore, the total number of different configurations is:
2 (for the first station) × 2 (for the second station) × 18 (for the third station) = 72.

The correct answer is therefore (d) 72.