My father asked me to submit a question about the so-called 'bathtub
curve'. If you cut a bathtub in half lengthwise down it's middle, the
edge of the tub would describe the 'bathtub curve' which can be used
to demonstrate typical failure rates of products. This curve is
characterised by high initial (infant mortality) failure rates at
it's beginning, which drop quickly to a very low level. Failures then
increase gradually to the "end of life" stage where the failure rate
takes off dramatically again.
If anyone in the math department knows about the so-called 'bathtub
curve' my father would really appreciate the equation.
From Jeffrey Yau: A bathtub, with two taps, can be filled in 20 minutes using only the cold water tap. It can be filled in 30 minutes using only the hot water tap. The flow of each tap is not changed when both taps are turned on. It takes 24 minutes to drain the full tub. Starting with an empty tub and the drain plug in place, the cold water turned on. Five minutes later the hot water is also turned on, and five minutes after that the drain plug is removed. How many additional minutes, after the plug is removed, would it take to fill the tub? Answered by Harley Weston.
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