Question

Let X1, X2, and X3 represent the times necessary to perform three successive repair tasks at a service facility. Suppose they are normal random variables with means of 50 minutes, 60 minutes, and 40 minutes, respectively. The standard deviations are 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and 10 minutes, respectively. a Suppose X1, X2, and X3 are independent. All three repairs must be completed on a given object. What is the mean and variance of the total repair time for this object.

Answer 1

The mean of the total repair time is 150 minutes.

The variance of the total repair time is 725 minutes^2.

Explanation:

To solve this problem, we have to use the properties of the mean and the variance. Our random variable is the sum of 3 normal variables.

In the case, for the mean, we have that the mean of the sum of 3 normal variables is equal to the sum of the mean of the 3 variables:

`y=x_1+x_2+x_3 \\\\E(y)=E(x_1+x_2+x_3)=E(x_1)+E(x_2)+E(x_3)\\\\E(y)=50+60+40=150`

For the variance, we apply the property for the sum of independent variables (the correlation between the variables is 0):

`V(y)=V(x_1)+V(x_2)+V(x_3)\\\\V(y)=s_1^2+s_2^2+s_3^2\\\\V(y)=15^2+20^2+10^2\\\\V(y)=225+400+100\\\\V(y)=725`