WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Basic Calculus, Grade 11, Quarter 4, Week 4

APPLICATION OF DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION IN SOLVING

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH AND DECAY PROBLEMS

Most Essential Learning Competencies

1. Solve situational problems involving exponential growth and decay.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the learner shall be able to:

1. Solve situational problems involving exponential growth and decay.

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Key Concepts

Let be the size of a certain population at time , and let the birth and death rates
be the constants and , respectively. The rate of change in the population with respect to
the time is given by
where .

If is positive, that is when , then there are more births than deaths and denotes
growth. If I negative, that is when , then there are more deaths than births and
denotes decay.

Let us try to solving . By separating the variables, we have

Integrating both sides will yield to

∫ ∫

Taking the exponentials of both sides, we get

But since we are operating with respect time, we can have the initial value of when .
Thus,

Substituting to in the equation , we have

We have now the Exponential Growth Law and Exponential Decay Law which states
that some quantities grow or decay at a rate proportional to their size. This relationship can be
written using the differential equation which can be solved using the general function
.
Example 1: Consider a population of a certain country that is observed to grow exponentially.
Based from the available record, there were 8,000 people at the start. After 10 years it increased
to 14,000. If the increase in number is constant, what is the estimated number of people in that
country after 100 years?
Solution: At the start, we have . The rate of change of a number of people is
actually . This can be written as which can be solved using the equation

The value of the growth constant is obtained by substituting and

because there are 14,000 people after 10 years. Thus, we have

Solving for , we have

Having found the constant rate , the solution to the differential equation that
satisfies the initial value problem is
( )

If , then
( )

Therefore, it is estimated that there will be 2,155,115 people in that country after 100
years.

Example 2. Consider the constant rate of decrease of a certain microorganism. At the start,
there are 10,000 microorganisms in a certain place. After 1 minute, the population decreased to
6,000. I the microorganisms is directly proportional to the constant rate of decay and such
decrease in number continues at the same rate, the how many microorganisms will be there
after 1.5 minutes?
Solution: . After 1 minute, the population decreased in number to 6000. So we
have

Solving for , we have

The value of is negative, which means a decay or decrease in number of

microorganisms. The resulting differential solution would be

To get the number of organisms after 1.5 minutes, let . Thus,

Therefore, it is estimated that there will be 4,648 microorganisms after 1.5 minutes.
Example 3. Suppose that a colony of ants grow exponentially. After 1 day, 50 ants are counted.
After 50 days, 200 were counted. How many ants are there originally? What is the exponential
growth equation for the colony?
Solution: Recall the exponential growth equation
 means
 means

Note that these two equations and will give us the values for two
unknowns, and .

From the first equation, . Using this in the second equation, we have
( )

Substituting in the first equation,

.
Therefore, there were originally 25 ants in the colony. The exponential growth for the given
problem is .

Activity (Solve Me!)

What you need: Paper and Ball pen

What to do:
Part I. Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
Note: Provide you solution in a clear and neat way.

1. Some quantities grow or decay at a rate proportional to their size. This relationship can be
written using which differential equation?
A. C.
B. D.
2. Which of the following general functions is used in solving exponential growth and decay?
A. B. C. D.
3. In the differential equation that is used in solving exponential growth and decay problems,
the constant rate is positive, then denotes ___________.
A. growth C. both growth and decay
B. decay D. cannot be determined
4. Suppose that a colony of bacteria grows exponentially. After 1 minute, there are 500
bacteria cells. After 3 minutes, 2000 were counted. What is the exponential growth
equation for the colony?
A. B. C. D.
5. Using the problem in #4, how many bacteria are there originally?
A. 150 B. 200 C. 250 D. 300
 Part II. Solving. Solve the following situational problems:
Note: Provide you solution in a clear and neat way.

1. Initially, there are 1 million bacteria present in a Petri dish. After 2 minutes, there are
already 5 million of them. If the bacterial population follows a law of natural growth,
how many bacteria should be present in the Petri dish after 5 minutes?

2. Consider the constant rate of depreciation value of a certain car. You bought a car
amounting to 1.5 million pesos. After 2 years, the value depreciated to 1.2 millions
pesos. If the amount of the car is directly proportional to the constant rate of decay in
amount and such decrease in amount at the same rate, then how much is the
estimated value of the car after 10 years?

Reflection

On a separate sheet of paper, write a short reflective essay (one to two paragraphs) detailing your
experiences in completing the activities. You may summarize the things that you have learned,
their applications in our daily lives, and the things that you enjoy or dislike.

RUBRICS
10 – 9 points 8 – 6 points 5 – 3 points 2 – 0 points
The reflection explains the The reflection attempts to
The reflection explains the
student’s own thinking and demonstrate thinking about The reflection does not address
student’s thinking about
learning experiences, as well learning but is vague and/or the student’s thinking and/or
his/her own learning
as implications for future unclear about the personal learning.
experiences.
learning. learning experiences.

References

Balmecada, J. P. et. al. (2016). Basic Calculus Teacher's Guide (1st ed.). Philippines: Department
of Education.
Leithold, L. (1976). The Calculus with Analytic Geometry (3rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
Basic Calculus Quarter 4 – Module 9. Published by DepEd Pasig City

5. C
4. C
3. A
2. 𝑃ℎ𝑝 9 2. C
1. 9 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 1. C
Part II. Solving Part I. Multiple Choice
Activity (Solve Me!)

KEY TO CORRECTION

Writer: Reviewers:

CHRISTIAN JAY M. BUSA ELMER R. ANDEBOR AMALIA B. RINGOR, DevEdD

Special Science Teacher I Subject Group Head Academic Track Head
Agusan National High School Agusan National High School Agusan National High School

RUTH A. CASTROMAYOR ISRAEL B. REVECHE, PhD

Principal IV Education Program Supervisor
SHS Assistant Principal Butuan City Division SHS Coordinator
Agusan National High School