Applications 5.

1 Exponential growth and decay

A5.1 Exponential growth and decay

Before you start Why do this?

You need to be able to: In science, population growth is often an

work out scale factors for percentage increase exponential function of time. The size of
and decrease. an investment in a bank account will grow
draw a graph given y in terms of x. exponentially if the interest rate remains constant.
Radioactive decay is an example of exponential
decay.

Objectives Get Ready

You can understand the meaning of exponential Work out:

growth and decay. 1 54 2 27 3 0.82 4 560
You can use multipliers to explore exponential
growth and decay.
You can use exponential growth in real life
problems.

Key Points
Exponential growth occurs when a function keeps increasing by the same scale factor. For example, the size
of a population of bacteria may double every hour, the amount invested in a bank account will increase each
year by the same scale factor as long as the interest rate remains constant.
Exponential decay occurs when a function keeps decreasing by the same scale factor. For example, the mass
of a radioactive element may halve every hour.
All exponential growth and decay functions can be represented by the equation y  kax
For exponential growth, a  1
For exponential decay, 0  a  1
The value of a, called the multiplier, is the scale factor by which the function grows or decays.
y represents the size of the population or amount at time x
k represents the initial value of y
y y

O x O x

y  kax (a  0) y  kax (0  a  1)

1
 Chapter 5 Exponential growth and decay

A03
Example 1 A scientist is studying a population of flies.
The size of the population, P, after t days is given by the equation P  60  2t.
a Work out the size of the population of flies at the beginning of the study.
b How many flies will there be after 10 days?
c Draw a graph to show the size of the population for the first 5 days of the study.
d What happens to the size of the population every day?

a P  60  20 At the beginning of the study t  0 so substitute this into the equation.

 60

b P  60  210 Substitute t  10 into the equation.

 61440

c
t 0 1 2 3 4 5 Work out the size of the population for the first
P 60 120 240 480 960 1920 5 days. Use a table to organise your results.

P
2000

1000 Plot your results on a graph.

O 1 2 3 4 5 t

d P  60  2t
Compare the equation with y  kax
The multiplier is 2.
The population doubles every day.

A03
Example 2 A scientist recorded the size of a
population of small mammals for a 400

number of days. The mammals are

suffering from a disease and so the 300
Population

population is decreasing exponentially.

The graph shows the size of the 200

population t days after the start of the

experiment. 100

O 2 4 6 8 10
a How many small mammals were Time (t days)
present at the beginning of the experiment?
b Work out the decrease in the number of small mammals
during the 2nd day of the experiment.
c Work out the percentage change in the number of small mammals each day.
d Work out the multiplier.

2
 Applications 5.1 Exponential growth and decay

a 400 insects Read the value of P from the graph when t  0.

b When t  1, P  300.
When t  2, P  225. The 2nd day of the experiment is between t  1 and t  2.
Take readings from the graph at these two values.
Decrease in number  300  225
Subtract these values to find the
 75 small mammals
decrease in the number of small mammals.

c Percentage change  ___

75
 100
300 As this is an exponential relationship, the
 25% decrease percentage change will be the same each day.
d Multiplier  100%  25%
 75%
 0.75

Exercise 5A

1 The graph shows the value, v, of an investment 4500 AO3

A
t years after the original amount was invested. 4000
The value of the investment increases
Value (£)

3500
exponentially. 3000 Equation of graph is
a What was the original amount invested? 2500 v  2000  1.08t
2000
b How much did the investment grow by in
1500
the 4th year? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
c i Work out the multiplier. Time (t years)

ii Work out the interest rate paid.

2 The mass, m grams, of a radioactive AO3

10
substance decreases exponentially as shown
in this graph. 8

a Work out the original mass of the

Mass (grams)

substance. 6

b Work out the mass of the substance

4 Equation of graph is
after 6 hours. m  9  0.8t
c i Work out the multiplier.
2
ii Work out the percentage rate of
decrease.
O 2 4 6 8 10
Time (t hours)

3 The value of a car, £C, t years after the car was bought is given by the equation: AO3
C  30 000  0.7t
a Work out the original price paid for the car.
b Draw a graph to show the value of the car for the first five years after the car was bought.
c By what percentage does the price of the car decrease every year?

3
 Chapter 5 Exponential growth and decay

A AO3 4 The values in the table show the size of a population that is known to be increasing exponentially.
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Size of population 43 600 48 832 54 692 61 255 68 605
a Work out the multiplier.
b Work out the likely size of the population in 2015.

Key Points

(
100  r n
An alternative form of the equation y  kax is: A  P _______
100 )
where: P is the original population (or amount)
n is the number of years (or hours etc)
r is the percentage by which the population is increasing (or decreasing)
A is the population (or amount) after n years.

A01
Example 3 An initial investment of £P grows exponentially at a rate of r% per year.
The size of the investment, A, after n years is given by:

(
100  r
A  P _______
100 )
n

a An investment is worth £11 576.25 after 3 years. Given that the interest rate was 5% per
annum, work out the initial value of this investment.
b Harry invests £2000, after 9 years the value of his investment is £2726. Work out the
annual interest rate. Give your answer correct to two significant figures.

100  5
a 11576.25  P ________ ( 100 ) 3
Substitute the information into the equation.

11576.25  P  1.053 Work out the sum in the brackets.

11576.25
P  __________ Rearrange the equation.
1.053
 £10 000

100  r
b 2726  2000 ________ ( 100 )
9 Substitute the information into the equation.

______
100  r
√______
92726  ________
2000 100
Rearrange the equation.
______

100  √ ______
2726  100  r
9
2000
r  3.5%

A03
Example 4 The population of an island is increasing exponentially. In 2 years the population
increased from 6900 to 8400. Assuming that the population continues to increase at the
same rate, what is the population of the island likely to be 5 years after the population was
6900?

4
 Applications 5.1 Exponential growth and decay

8400  6900  a2 As the population is increasing exponentially it will satisfy the equation
8400  a2 y  kax
______
6900
______

√ 8400
a  ______
6900
Solve the equation to work out the value of the multiplier a.

 1.1033…
Multiplier is 1.1033…
Use the original equation with the value for the
P  6900  (1.1033…)5 multiplier and x  5 to work out the likely population.
 11282.99…
 11 300 correct to 3 significant figures
Examiner’s Tip

( )
100  r n could also
The equation A  P _______
100
be used to solve this problem. However, as the
percentage rate of increase was not required, it
is more efficient to use y  kax

Exercise 5B

1 An initial population, P, grows exponentially at a rate of r% per year.

AO3
A
The size of the population, A, after n years is given by:
( )
100  r n
A  P _______
100
a Given that a population is initially 4000 and is growing exponentially at a rate of 7%, find the size of
the population after 10 years.
b Another population grows exponentially from 16 500 to 19 000 in 3 years. Work out the percentage
rate of growth.
2 The value of a machine in a factory decreases exponentially from its initial value, £P, at a rate of r% per AO3
year. The value of the machine, A, after n years is given by:
( )
100  r n
A  P _______
100
a Given that a machine cost £180 000 initially and its value is decreasing by 14% per annum, find the
value of the machine after 10 years.
b Another machine is initially worth £78 000; its value has dropped to £49 000 after 4 years.
Find its percentage rate of decrease.
3 An initial investment of £P grows exponentially at a rate of r% per year. AO3
The size of the investment, A, after n years is given by:
( )
100  r n
A  P _______
100
a Ali wants to invest £3000 for 5 years. Bank A offers an interest rate of 3.6%. Bank B offers an interest
rate of 3.75%. How much more interest will she earn in 5 years if she invests her money in Bank B?
b The value of an investment at another bank doubles in 15 years. Work out the interest rate.

5
 Chapter 5 Exponential growth and decay

A AO3 4 The mass, m grams, of a radioactive substance decreases exponentially. It takes 3 days for the mass
of the substance to halve. If there is initially 38 grams of the substance, work out how much will remain
after 5 days.

AO3
5 The value of an investment is increasing exponentially. In 3 years the value of the investment increases
from £15 000 to £18 119. Assuming that the value of the investment continues to increase at the same
rate, what is the value likely to be after it has been invested for a total of 8 years?

AO3
6 The size of a population is increasing exponentially. Given that it takes 10 years for the population to
double, work out the percentage rate at which the population is increasing.

Review
Exponential growth occurs when a function keeps increasing by the same scale factor. For example, the size
of a population of bacteria may double every hour, the amount invested in a bank account will increase each
year by the same scale factor as long as the interest rate remains constant.
Exponential decay occurs when a function keeps decreasing by the same scale factor. For example, the mass
of a radioactive element may halve every hour.
All exponential growth and decay functions can be represented by the equation y  kax
For exponential growth, a  1
For exponential decay, 0  a  1
The value of a, called the multiplier, is the scale factor by which the function grows or decays.
y represents the size of the population or amount at time x.
k represents the initial value of y.
y y

O x O x

y  kax (a  0) y  kax (0  a  1)
(
100  r n
An alternative form of the equation y  kax is: A  P _______
100 )
where: P is the original population (or amount)
n is the number of years (or hours etc)
r is the percentage by which the population is increasing (or decreasing)
A is the population (or amount) after n years.

6
 Answers

Answers
Chapter 5

A5.1 Get Ready answers

1 625
2 128
3 0.64
4 1

Exercise 5A
1 a £2000 b £201.55 c i 1.08 ii 8%
2 a 9 grams b 2.4 grams c i 0.8 ii 20%
3 a £30 000
b
30 000
Value (£)

20 000

10 000

O 2 4
Time (years)
c 30%
4 a 1.12 or 12% b 135 415

Exercise 5B
1 a 7869 b 4.8%
2 a £39 834 b 11%
3 a £25.99 b 4.73%
4 11.97 grams
5 £24 824
6 7.2%