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Problem 6

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5 views3 pages

Problem 6

Uploaded by

alissakerroll
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Mathematics for economists, 2022

Problem set 6 : Exponential and logarithm


functions
Exercise 1
After t weeks of training, a secretary can type S(t) = 100(1 − e−0.25t )
words per minute. How many weeks will he take to reach 80 words per
minute ?

Exercise 2
All living things absorb small amounts of radioactive carbon 14 from the
atmosphere. When they die, the carbon 14 stops being absorbed and decays
exponentially into ordinary carbon. Therefore, the proportion of carbon 14
still present in a fossil or other ancient remain can be used to estimate how
old it is. The proportion of the original carbon 14 that will be present after
t years is

Proportion of carbon 14 remaining after t years = e−0,00012t

1. Estimate the age of the Lascaux cave paintings if the carbon with
which they were drawn contains only 2,3% of its original carbon 14.
(They are the oldest known paintings in the world.)
2. Estimate the age of the Shroud of Turin, believed to be the burial
cloth of Jesus Christ, knowing that its linen fibers contained 92,3% of
their original carbon 14.
3. Estimate the age of the Dead Sea Scrolls, among the earliest document
of Western civilization, knowing that the animal skins on which some
were written contain 78% of their original carbon 14.

Exercise 3
According to a study 1 , each additional year of education increases one’s
income by 16%. Therefore, with x extra years of education, your income will
be multiplied by a factor of 1, 16x .
1. How many additional years of education are required to double your
income ?
2. How many additional years of education are required to increase your
income by 50% ?
1. Ashenfelter, O. C., and Krueger, A. B. (1994). Estimates of the Economic Returns
to Schooling from a New Sample of Twins. American Economic Review, 84(5), 1157-73.

1
Mathematics for economists, 2022

Exercise 4
Differentiate the following functions :

1. f (x) = e−3x 6. f (x) = x3 ex


2. f (x) = 2ex
3
7. f (x) = ln(ex − 2x)

3. f (x) = ln(5x) 8. f (x) = ln(ex )


10
ln(x) 9. f (x) =
4. f (x) = 1 + e−2x
x3
ex − e−x
10. f (x) = x
p
5. f (x) = ln(x) e + e−x

Exercise 5
Determine the domains of the functions defined by :

1. f (x) = ln(x + 1) 4. f (x) = ln(x2 − 1)


3x − 1 5. f (x) = ln(ln(x))
2. f (x) = ln( )
1−x 1
3. f (x) = ln|x| 6. f (x) =
ln(ln(x)) − 1

Exercise 6
Find the second derivative of these functions :
5 /5
1. f (x) = e−x 3. f (x) = x3 ln(x)
ln(x)
2. f (x) = ln(x) + 3x − 2 4. f (x) =
x

Exercise 7
A paper 2 found that one’s earnings are affected by the mathematics
courses one has taken. In particular, compared to someone making 40000
dollars who had taken no calculus, a comparable person who had taken x
years of calculus would be earning 40000e0.195x dollars. Find the rate of
change of this function at x = 1 and interpret your answer.
2. Rose, H., and Betts, J. R. (2004). The effect of high school courses on earnings.
Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(2), 497-513.

2
Mathematics for economists, 2022

Exercise 8
Consider an economic model in which the number of families with income
≤ x is given by

p(x) = a + k(1 − e−cx ) with a, k and c positive constants

Determine p0 (x) and p00 (x), and then the sketch the graph of the function.

Exercise 9
Compute the relative rate of change of the following functions using
logarithmic differentiation :
x + 1 1/3
 
1. f (x) =
x−1
2. f (x) = x2x
√
3. f (x) = x − 2(x2 + 1)(x4 + 6)
4. f (x) = (2x)x

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