FIGURE 34178,600, and the number that fail to penetrate C 4 = 291,400 - 113,646 = 177,754. These
particles return to a in Fig. 33 and then enter C 3. Refer to Fig. 34. The number of par-
ticles that penetrate C 3 = (178,600 + 177,754)(0.41) = 146,105, and the number that
then penetrate C 5 - 146,105(0.55) = 80,358. Thus, 80,358 particles reach c by way of
C 3 and C 5.
- Compute the reliability of the system
From steps 1, 2, and 3 (or from Fig. 34), the number of particles that traverse the system
from a to c = 384,515 + 113,646 + 80,358 = 578,519. The proportion of particles that tra-
verse the system = 578,519/1,000,000 = 0.57852, and this is the reliability of the system.
This result is consistent with that in the preceding calculation procedure.
Making Business Decisions under UncertaintyThe industrial world is characterized by uncertainty, and so many business decisions
must be based on considerations of probability. The calculation procedures that follow
illustrate several techniques that have been developed for making decisions of this
type.