Exponential Linear MiniProject

Name__________________
Period______Row#_______

When people use math in real world situations, it is not like doing word problems from your math book.
Problems and questions that arise in everyday life, society, and the workplace are not separated into chapters of
math book and you are not told which type equation to use. The main goal of this project is to build on your
ability to choose appropriate function type to model different situations given different types of information and
then use those function to answer questions.
The first task of every scenario will be to distinguish which function is appropriate to model the
situation. While there are many types of functions used to model real world situations, we will focus on 3 types
for this project: linear functions, exponential growth functions, and exponential decay functions. Lets place the
key features and vocabulary from the word bank into the table underneath their appropriate function type.
Word Bank
constant percent increase
constant percent decrease

constant rate of change

decay factor
Linear functions

Slope
growth factor

increasing
Exponential growth functions

decreasing
Exponential decay functions

Another goal of the project is to develop your ability to speak and write academically in mathematics.
Vocabulary, precision, and reasoning are all very important when communicating in mathematics. I want full
sentence answers with appropriate vocabulary, when you are justifying functions for each scenario. Here is an
example sentence frame that you can use in your justification sentence.
This situation is best modeled using a(n) __________ function. Since dependent variable(y) is
increasing/decreasing by amount/percent found in the question every independent variable(x), we can say it has a
constant ________________. The constant ___________ can be written as the __________ in the
_____________ function.
The second task of every scenario will be to write an equation to model the scenario. The generic forms of the
equations will be y=mx+b and y=a(b)x. Lets label the each part of these generic equations

The final task of every scenario will be to use the equation to answer the additional question.
(Pay attention to which variable your are trying to find and which variable is given[the one you plug into])

After finishing the 8 given scenarios, you will create your own scenarios. You will come up with a scenario that is
best represented using a linear function and another scenario that is best represented using an exponential
function. Then you will justify each scenario. Each of the given and created situations will be 3 points, so the
project will be worth a total of 30 points.
Extra Credit (Half a point each): For any of the 8 given scenarios, accurately graph the equation (on graph paper).
Make sure to scale and label the axis. Then label the coordinate that represents the solution to the question in part
(c) of the scenario

Scenario 1
In the year 2000, there were 3,000 cell phone subscribers in the imaginary town of Bananaland. The
number of subscribers increases by 75% per year. Model the number of cell phone subscribers, using
number of years after 2000 as your independent variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how many years after the year 2000 it will take for there to be a total of
10,000 cell phone subscribers in Bananaland.

Situation 2
Mr. Chu wants open up his own business and sell truffle mac and cheese out of a food truck. Every
month he has to pay 300 dollars to maintain his food truck and it costs him $1.25 for ingredients for
every dish he sells. Model the total cost in a month, using the number of dishes as your independent
variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out what Mr. Chus monthly cost would be if he sold 320 dishes of truffle
mac and cheese.

Situation 3
Richard has $500 in savings. He decides to play World of Applecraft for the foreseeable future and will
have to pay $15 every month that he plays the game. He has no other expenses or income. Model the
amount in Richards savings, using the number of months he plays World of Applecraft as your
independent variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how months Richard could play World of Applecraft for his savings to
hit $290.

Situation 4
Jackie enters a tennis tournament with a single elimination bracket system. The tournament starts with
64 participants, and after each round of matches, half of the players are eliminated and only half the
players remain in the tournament. Model the tennis participants remaining after each round, using the
round number as your independent variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how many remaining participants there would be after the 3rd round of
matches.

Situation 5
Atmospheric pressure (the pressure of air around you) decreases as you go higher above sea level. You
record the air pressure at 6 different heights above. Using the data, Model the atmospheric pressure in
kPa, using km above sea level as your independent variable
km above
0
1
2
3
4
5
sea level
atmospheric
101.325
89.166
78.4661
69.0502
60.7641
53.4724
pressure in kPa
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how many kilometers above sea level you would have to be for the
atmospheric pressure to be 40 kPa.

Situation 6
Bacteria can multiply at an alarming rate when each bacteria splits into two new cells, thus doubling. In
a large petri dish, we start with 100 bacteria. These bacteria can split every hour, which causes the
population to doubles every hour. Model the population of bacteria, using number of hours as your
independent variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how long would it take for there to be 1,000,000 bacteria.

Situation 7
Pierre has had his phone on all day and his battery is at 12%. He starts to charge his phone and checks
his phone every 3 minutes until he gets bored. Model Pierres battery percent, using the minutes after he
starts charging as your independent variable. (Be careful notice minutes are not increasing by 1)
Minutes
0
3
6
9
12
15
Battery (in percent)
12
14
16
18
20
22
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, find out how long it would take for his phone to reach 100% battery.

Situation 8
Emma buys a collectable record for $50. This record appreciates (gains value) by 7% each year. Model
the worth of Emmas record, using the number of years after she buys it as your independent variable.
(A) What type of function best models this situation? Why?

(B) What is the equation to model this situation?

(C) Using your model, who much will Emmas record be worth 30 years after she buys it.

Create your own scenarios!!

Linear Function Scenario

Justification of why the scenario is linear.

Exponential Function Scenario(can be growth or decay)

Justification of why the scenario is exponential.