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Applications of Exponential Functions

The document discusses exponential functions and their applications in modeling real-life situations involving growth or decay. It provides examples of exponential growth and decay models and how they are defined by an initial value and a growth or decay rate over time. The document also shows how to set up and work with specific exponential models for situations like rumor spreading in a school, stock market growth, and cooling coffee temperatures.

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Elizabeth
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8 views

Applications of Exponential Functions

The document discusses exponential functions and their applications in modeling real-life situations involving growth or decay. It provides examples of exponential growth and decay models and how they are defined by an initial value and a growth or decay rate over time. The document also shows how to set up and work with specific exponential models for situations like rumor spreading in a school, stock market growth, and cooling coffee temperatures.

Uploaded by

Elizabeth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Applications of Exponential

Functions
• Many real – life situations are modeled by exponential functions. The
defining characteristic of when it’s appropriate to use an exponential
model is roughly: how much something grows / decays depends
primarily on how much you currently have.
Examples
• Financial Growth/Depreciation: gaining interest on an investment /
the value of an asset depreciating over time
• Biological Populations (growth): babies / offspring
• Viral Social Media Content (Spreading of rumors): similar to biological
• Radioactive Decay: Unstable isotopes will break down over time in a
probabilistic manner.
• Exponential Growth involves an increasing exponential model. The
dependent variable gets larger and larger over time. 𝑏 > 1
• Exponential Decay involves a decreasing exponential model. The
dependent variable gets smaller and smaller over time. 0 < 𝑏 < 1

𝑡
Ex: A doubling time model can be written as 𝑃 𝑡 = 𝑃0 2 , 𝑡 ≥ 0.
𝑑

𝑃 𝑡 : the population after some time (dependent variable)


𝑡: time (independent variable)
𝑃0 : initial population (how many there are at the start, 𝑡 = 0)
𝑑: doubling time (the amount of time it takes for the population to
double)
• A rumor that is spreading in a school can be modeled by the function
𝑡
𝑃 𝑡 = 3 2 , 𝑡 ≥ 0 where 𝑃 𝑡 is the number of students who have
45

heard the rumor and 𝑡 is the time in minutes.


a) Identify the number of students who initially had heard the rumor.
0
0
Initially 3 students heard the rumor. Check: 𝑃 0 = 3 2 45 =3 2 =3 1 =3

b) Identify the doubling time and check algebraically that it gives the
correct answer. 45
The doubling time is 45 minutes. Check: 𝑃 45 = 3 2 45 = 3 2 1 = 3 2 = 6
After 45 minutes, the number of students
who have heard the rumor has doubled.

c) Explain the stated restrictions on the domain. Are there any unstated
restrictions?
The restriction 𝑡 ≥ 0 is required since time cannot be negative in a real – life application question.
Although unstated, there should be some upper limit to the domain since there is a limit to the
number of students attending the school.
d) How many students would have heard the rumor after 5 hours?
5 hours = 5 × 60 minutes = 300 minutes
300 20
𝑃 300 = 3 2 =3 2
45 ≐ 304.7
3
Approximately 305 students would have heard the rumor after 5 hours.
e) Sketch the graph in Desmos

f) If the school has 2500 students, use the graph in Desmos to estimate
how much time it would take for everyone to have heard the rumor.
437
We can see from Desmos that it would take approximately 437 minutes or ≐ 7.3 hours for
60
everyone at the school to hear the rumor.

Note: Solving this question algebraically would require us to know how to solve the equation
𝑡
2500 = 3 2 45 which as previously mentioned we do not know how to do at this level.
𝑡
• An exponential growth model will have the form 𝐴 𝑡 = 𝐴0 1 + 𝑟 , 𝑡 ≥ 0. 𝑖
𝑡
• An exponential decay model will have the form 𝐴 𝑡 = 𝐴0 1 − 𝑟 , 𝑡 ≥ 0.
𝑖

𝐴 𝑡 : amount after time 𝑡 (dependent variable)


𝑡: time (independent variable)
𝐴0 : initial amount (how much we start with when time is 0)
𝑟: the growth or decay rate over some fixed interval of time 𝑖. Note: If the rate
is expressed as a percentage, we have to remember to convert to a decimal
when putting in the formula.
𝑖: the interval of time over which the growth or decay rate is being described
• Ex: A stock posted on the stock market has an initial value of $15 per
share. The value of the stock increases by 6% every 4 months.
Let 𝐴 be the value of the stock in dollars per share and let 𝑡 be the time in months.
𝐴0 = 15, 𝑟 = 6% = 0.06, 𝑖 = 4
𝑡
𝐴 𝑡 = 𝐴0 1 + 𝑟 𝑖
𝑡 𝑡
𝐴 𝑡 = 15 1 + 0.06 4 = 15 1.06 4

• Ex: A new car is purchased at a price of $25000. The value of the car
decreases by 12% every year.
Let 𝐴 be the value of the car in dollars and let 𝑡 be the time in years.
𝐴0 = 25000, 𝑟 = 12% = 0.12, 𝑖 = 1
𝑡
𝐴 𝑡 = 𝐴0 1 − 𝑟 𝑖
𝑡
𝐴 𝑡 = 25000 1 − 0.12 1 = 25000 0.88 𝑡
• The previous models do not include
any shifts to the base function.
However some models might also
incorporate such transformations.
At right, we can see a model that
describes the temperature of a cup
of coffee that is cooling over time.
Notice the horizontal asymptote is
no longer 𝑦 = 0 but now 𝑦 = 20
indicating a vertical shift. This is
because of the ambient
temperature of the room that the
cup of coffee would not cool
beyond.

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