A Catalog Company That Receives the Majority of Its Orders

question 49

Multiple Choice

A catalog company that receives the majority of its orders by telephone conducted a study to determine how long customers were willing to wait on hold before ordering a product. The length of waiting time was found to be a random variable best approximated by an exponential distribution with a mean length of waiting time equal to 3 minutes (i.e. the mean number of calls answered in a minute is 1/3) . What proportion of customers having to hold more than 1.5 minutes will hang up before placing an order?

• A) 0.86466
• B) 0.60653
• C) 0.39347
• D) 0.13534

---

Definitions:

Metabolism

The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life, involving the conversion of food to energy, elimination of waste, and other bodily functions.

Reproduction

The biological process by which new individual organisms are produced, ensuring the continuation of a species.

Genetic Information

The set of instructions found within an organism's DNA that guides growth, development, functioning, and reproduction.

Fecundity

The ability to produce an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertility.