Application:

Exponential and
Logarithmic
Function/Equation
Exponential Function/Equation
Objectives:
To solve real-life application problems using the properties of
exponents and exponential functions.
Exponential Function/Equation

Exponential functions are used in our real world to measure growth,

interest, decay and others.
Example:
rumors, human population, bacteria, computer technology, nuclear
chain reactions, compound interest
Carbon-14 dating, half-life, Newton’s Law of Cooling
Bacterial Growth
Exponential functions may be used to describe the growth of certain
populations.

To illustrate, suppose it is observed experimentally that the number

of bacteria in a culture doubles every day. If 1000 bacteria are
present at the start, then we obtain the data in the following table,

𝒕 (time in days) 0 1 2 3 4
𝑓(𝑡) (bacteria growth) 1000 2000 4000 8000 16, 000
It appears that
𝑓 𝑡 = 1000(2𝑡 )
With this model, we can predict the number of bacteria present at
any time 𝑡.
Example:
The number of bacteria in a certain culture increased from 600 to
1800 between 7:00AM to 9:00AM. Assuming that the growth is
exponential , the number 𝑓(𝑡) of bacteria 𝑡 hours after 7:00AM is
𝑡Τ
given by 𝑓 𝑡 = 600(3) 2 .
(a) Estimate the number of bacteria in the culture at 8:00AM,
10:00AM, and 11:00AM

ANS: 1039, 3117, 5400

(b) Sketch the graph of 𝑓 for 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 4.
Radioactive Decay
Certain physical quantities decrease exponentially. In such cases, if
𝑎 is the base of the exponential function, then 0 < 𝑎 < 1. One of the
most common example of exponential decrease is the decay of a
radioactive substance, or isotope.

Half-life of an isotope is the time it takes for one half the original
amount in a given sample to decay.
The half-life is the principal characteristic used to distinguish one
radioactive substance from another.
Example:
210
The polonium isotope 𝑃𝑜 has a half-life of approximately 140
days; that is, given an amount, one-half of it will disintegrate in 140
210
days. If 20 milligrams of 𝑃𝑜 is present initially, then the
following table indicates the amount remaining after various
interval of time.

𝒕 (time in days) 0 140 280 420 560

𝑓(𝑡) (mg remaining) 20 10 5 2.5 1.25

Example:
210
The radioactive bismuth isotope 𝐵𝑖 has a half-life of 5 days. If
210
there is 100 milligrams of 𝐵𝑖 present at 𝑡 = 0, then the
−𝑡
amount 𝑓(𝑡) remaining after 𝑡 days is given by 𝑓 𝑡 = 100(2) . 5
210
How much 𝐵𝑖 remains after 5 days? 10 days? 12.5 days?
Compound Interest
Formula:
𝑟 𝑛𝑡
𝐴 =𝑃 1+
𝑛
where
𝑃 − 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙
𝑟 = 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙
𝑛 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑡 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑃 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑
𝐴 = 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
Example:
Suppose that $1000 is invested at an interest rate 9% compounded
monthly. Find the new amount of principal after 5 years, after 10
years, and after 15 years. Illustrate graphically the growth of the
investment.
Continuous Compounding
Formula:

𝐴 𝑡 = 𝑃𝑒 𝑟𝑡
where
𝑃 − 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡/𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙
𝑟 − 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝑡 − 𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝐴 𝑡 − 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
IN GENERAL……
Exponential growth and decay can be modeled using the formula:

t
A(t ) = A0 ( B) P

where
𝐴(𝑡) = future amount
𝐴𝑜 = initial amount
𝐵 = type of growth
𝑃 = period for growth to occur
𝑡 = elapsed time
Examples:
1. A bacterial culture doubles every two hours. If the culture started
with 24,000 bacteria, how many bacteria will be present in 4
hours?

2. The population of a town triples every 6 years. If 4,000 people are

present in 2006, how many will be in the town in 2020?

3. Movie tickets now average Php 160 a ticket, but are increasing
15% per year. How much will they cost 5 years from now?
4. Three years ago there were 10 apes and the population is now 19,
what is the annual percent growth?

5. A two-bedroom house in Nashville is worth Php 900,000. If it

appreciates at 2.5% per year, when will it be worth
Php18,000,000?

6. A bacteria culture doubles every 0.25 hours. At time 1.25 hours,

there are 40 000 bacteria present. How many bacteria were
present initially?
7. A bacteria culture starts with 3000 bacteria. After 3 hours there
are 48 000 bacteria present. What is the length of the doubling
period in hours?

8. The population of a town triples every 8 years. How many years

will it take for the population to double?
9. A powerful computer is purchased for Php 18,000, but on the
average loses 20% of its value each year. How much will it be
worth 4 years from now?

10. A Honda Accord depreciates at 15% per year. Six years ago it
was purchased for Php 800,000. What is it worth now?

11. The cost of a High Definition television now averages Php

15,000, but the cost is decreasing about 15% per year. In how
many years will the cost be Php 10,000?
12. The value of a piece of equipment has a decay factor of 0.80 per
year. After 5 years, the equipment is worth Php 98,304. What was
the original value of the equipment?
13. Light passing through murky water retains three-fourths of its
intensity for every meter of water. At what depth will the light
intensity be 60% of what it is at the surface?

14. A town loses 0.8% of its population every year. How many years
will it take the population of 8000 to become 7000?
Half-Life/Decay
1. The half life of a sample is 4 hours. If 60 g of the sample was
initially present, how much will remain after 7 hours?

2. The half life of a radioactive sample is 6.2 hours. If 2000 grams of

the sample is present after 7 hours, how much was initially
present?

3. A radioactive sample has a half life of 3 days. How long will it take
for only 1/8 of the sample to remain?
4. A radioactive sample has a half life of 3 years, and has an initial mass of
68 grams. How long will it take for the sample to lose 8 grams?

5. If 90% of a sample of carbon-14 remains after 866 years, what is the

half-life of carbon-14?

6. The rate of decay of Niobium is proportional to the amount present at

any time. The half-life of Niobium is 20300 years and 10 g of Niobium is
present now. After how many years from now will there be 2 g of
Niobium left?
7. Suppose the half-life of a certain radioactive substance is 20 days and
there are 5 g (grams) present initially. Find the time when there will be
1 g of the substance remaining.

8. If the half life of a substance is 5 years, how many years will it take for
2 pounds of this substance to decay to 1/8 of a pound ?

9. In 2004, archaeologist Al Goodyear discovered a site in South Carolina

that contains evidence of the earliest human settlement in North
America. Carbon dating of burned plant material indicated 0.2% of the
amount of carbon-14 in a live sample. How old was that sample?
10. Geologists have determined that Crater Lake in Oregon was
formed by a volcanic eruption. Chemical analysis of a wood chip
assumed to be from a tree that died during the eruption has shown
that it contains approximately 45% of its original carbon-14.
Estimate how long ago the volcanic eruption occurred.

11. Many scholars believe that the earliest nonnative settlers of

North America were Vikings who sailed from Iceland. If a fragment
of a wooden tool found and dated in 2004 had 88.3% of the
amount of carbon-14 in a living sample, when was this tool made?
12. Radium-221 has a half life of 30 sec. How long will it take for
95% of a sample to decay?

13. After 3 days, a sample of radon 222 has decayed to 58% of its
original amount. What is the half life of radon 222? How long will
it take the sample to decay to 20% of its original amount?

14. The half life of palladium-100 is 4 days. After 20 days, a sample

has been reduced to a mass of 0.375 grams. What was the initial
mass of the sample?
Compound and continuous interest
problems
1. How much interest does a Php100,000 investment earn at 5.6%
over 18 years compounded quarterly?

2. Calculate the amount of interest paid on a 7-year loan of

Php130,450 at 4.8% compounded semiannually.

3. You deposit Php 20,000 in an account that earns 2.5% annual

interest. Find the balance in the account at the end of 4 years if it is
compounded daily.
4. If John invests Php 23,000 in a savings account with a 9% interest
rate compounded quarterly, how long will it take until John’s
account has a balance of Php 41,500?
5. Megan is the trust officer for an estate. If she invests Php150,000
into an account that carries an interest rate of 8% compounded
monthly, how long will it be until the account has a value of Php
500,000 for Megan’s client?
6. What annual interest rate compounded monthly is required for an
investment to triple in five years?
7. Jack is an actuary working for a corporate pension fund. He needs
to have Php14.6 million grow to Php 22 million in 6 years. What
interest rate compounded annually does he need for this
investment?
8. Determine how much time is required for an investment to triple
in value if interest is earned at the rate of 6.25% compounded
monthly.
9. Php 230,000 is invested at 6% compounded monthly for 7 years.
How much interest is earned?
11. How much will you have after 2 years if you invest Php 100,000 at
11% compounded continuously?

12. Find the balance if Php 320,000 is invested at an annual rate of 8%

for 3 years, compounded continuously.

13. Php 100,000 is invested at an annual interest rate of 5% compounded

continuously.

a. How long will it take for this initial investment to double in value?
b. How long will it take for this initial investment to triple?
14. How long will it take Php 250,000 to double if it is invested in a
savings account that pays 5.88% annual interest compounded
continuously?

15. How long will it take Php 60,000 to triple if it is invested in a savings
account that pays 7.6% annual interest compounded continuously?

16. You receive a Php 50,000 gift which you want to invest for 3 years.
Should you choose an investment paying 4.5% interest compounded
monthly or one paying 4.25% interest compounded continuously?
17. How much should you invest at 4.8% compounded continuously to
have Php 50,000 in 2.5 years?

18. Find the time required for money invested at an annual rate of 6% to
double in value if the investment is compounded continuously.

19. A recent college graduate decides he would like to have Php 200,000
in four years to make a down payment on a home. Suppose the interest
rate is 4% compounded continuously, how much does he need to
invest?
Logarithmic Function/Equation
Logarithmic Scale

A logarithmic scale is a nonlinear scale often used when analyzing a

large range of quantities. Instead of increasing in equal increments,
each interval is increased by a factor of the base of the logarithm.
Typically, a base ten and base e scale are used.
Example of Logarithmic Scale
The Richter Scale

Earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale, which is a base 10

logarithmic scale. This scale measures the magnitude of an
earthquake, which is the amount of energy released by it. For every
single increase on this scale, the magnitude is increased by a factor
of 10.
The Richter Scale
On the Richter Scale, the magnitude 𝑅 of an earthquake of intensity
𝐼 is given by
𝐼
𝑅 = log
𝐼0
where 𝐼0 𝑖𝑠 a certain minimum intensity.
Intensity in a normal/standard day is 10−4 𝑐𝑚 (from seismograph)
Example:
1. A small tremor of magnitude 3.4 is followed by a stronger one of
magnitude 4.1. How much stronger is the second tremor than
the first?

2. A weak earthquake has a magnitude of 6.5, and the following day

a strong earthquake occurs with double that intensity. What is the
magnitude of the second earthquake?
Example:
Energy Release:

2 𝐸
𝑅 = log
3 𝐸0
where is 𝐸 is the energy release (in joules) and 𝐸0 is the reference
level
𝐸0 = 104.4 joules (normal day)
Example:
1. If the energy release of one earthquake is 1,000 times that of
another, how much larger is the Richter scale reading of the larger
than the smaller?
Example of Logarithmic Scale
Sound
The way sound is picked up by one's ears is of logarithmic nature. The
decibel (dB) system of sound intensity is a measure of how loud a sound
is to one's ears. It is represented by the equation
𝐼
𝑑𝐵 = 10 × log
𝐼0
where 𝐼𝑜 is the threshold of hearing and 𝐼 is the intensity of the sound.

The hearing threshold is the sound level below which a person’s ear is
unable to detect any sound.
𝐼 is the intensity of sound measure in watts per square meter.
𝐼0 is 10−12 𝑤/𝑚2
Example:
If we measured a sound intensity to be 560 times greater that the
threshold reference, what would be the sound level expressed in
dB?
560 ∙ 10−12
𝑑𝐵 = 10 log −12
= 10 log 560 = 27.5𝑑𝐵
10
The threshold of pain is about 120 dB. How many times greater in
intensity (in w/m2) is this?

𝐼
𝑑𝐵 = 10 log
𝐼0
𝐼
120 = 10 log
10−12

𝐼 = 1 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡/𝑚2
Notice that the approximate threshold of pain is a factor of 1012 (that's a
trillion!) greater than the threshold of hearing.
Example:

1. A sound of 45 dB is 45 times louder than a weaker sound. What

is the loudness of a weaker sound?

2. One sound has a loudness of 78 dB, and another sound has

loudness of 100 dB. How many times louder is the second
sound?
Example of Logarithmic Scale
The pH scale
A commonly used logarithmic scale is the pH scale, used when
analyzing acids and bases.
What the pH scale is doing is measuring the concentration of
hydrogen ions (𝐻+ ) in a substance, and is given by the equation
10−𝑝𝐻 = 𝐻+
By this, for every one decrease (due to the negative sign) in the pH,
the acidity increases by a factor of ten (A pH of 3 is 10 times more
acidic than a pH of 4, and is 100 times more acidic than a pH of 5).
Example:
1. If a beaker of acid has a pH of 4.1, calculate the hydrogen
concentration of the acid.

2. A beaker of acid has a hydrogen concentration of

3.5 𝑥 10−6 𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝐿. Calculate the pH of the acid.
3. A beaker of acid has a pH of 4.9, and a second beaker has a pH of
7.6. Determine how many times higher the hydrogen
concentration is in the strong acid as compare to the weaker one.
More Example:
1. One sound has a loudness of 78 dB, and another sound has
loudness of 100 dB. How many times louder is the second sound?

2. If the intensity of one sound is 10,000 times stronger than the

other sound, what is the difference in decibels between the two
sounds?
3. A typical mixture of laundry soap and water for washing clothes
has a pH of about 11, while black coffee has a pH of about 5. How
much greater is the concentration of hydrogen ions in black coffee
than in laundry mixture?