Final answer:
The probability that the component will fail by 15,000 hours is approximately 0.7769.
Step-by-step explanation:
Since the time-to-failure distribution follows an exponential distribution, we can use the formula:
P(X < x) = 1 - e^(-x/mean)
where X is the time-to-failure and mean is the average life of the component.
Given that the mean life is 10,000 hours:
P(X < 15,000) = 1 - e^(-15,000/10,000)
P(X < 15,000) = 1 - e^(-1.5)
P(X < 15,000) = 1 - 0.2231
P(X < 15,000) = 0.7769