Name __________________________________ Date _________

Intro to Algebra 1 Extended: Unit 1 -- Exponential Functions and Equations

Exponential Growth and Decay

There are many things in the real world that grow faster as they grow larger or decrease slower as they get
smaller. These types of phenomena, loosely speaking, are known as exponential growth (and decay in the case
of decreasing). In today’s lesson, we will look at both growth and decay.

Example 1 The number of people who have heard a rumor often grows exponentially. Consider a rumor that
starts with 3 people and where the number of people who have heard it doubles each day that it
spreads.

(a) Why does it make sense that the number of people who have heard a rumor would grow
exponentially?

(b) Fill in the table below for the number of people, N, who knew the rumor after it has spread a
certain number of days, d.

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Example 2 We’d like to determine the number of people who know the rumor after 20 days, but to do that,
we need to develop a formula to predict N (the number knowing the rumor) if we know d (the
number of days it has been spreading).

(a) For the following number of days, fill in how you calculated your values based on extended
products using the number 2.

(b) Using the pattern you developed in (a), write a formula giving the number of people who
know the rumor, N, if you know the number of days, d, it has been spreading.

(c) How many people would know the rumor after 20 days?

(d) Exponential growth can be very fast. Assuming our equation from (b) holds, how many days
will it take for the number of people knowing the rumor to surpass the population of the
United States, which is approximately 315 million people? Show calculations that support
your answer.

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Let’s now look at developing a fairly simple exponential decay problem.

Example 3

(a) Fill in the table below for the distance that Helmut has left after n-trips.

(b) Each entry in the table could be found by multiplying the previous by what number? This is
important because we always want to think about exponential functions in terms of multiplying.

(c) Like in Example 2(a), we want to see this process as repeated multiplication by ½. Fill out each of
the following pattern:

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(d) Based on (c), give a formula that predicts the distance, D, that Helmut has left after n-trips.

(e) How far is Helmut from the windmill after 6 trips? Provide a calculation that justifies your answer
and don’t forget those units!

(f) Helmut believes he will reach the windmill after 10 trips. Is he correct?

(g) Explain why Helmut will never reach the windmill?

(h) Why is the domain of this function only the whole numbers, i.e. 0,1, 2, 3, ... ?

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 Exponential Functions

So far, we have concentrated on linear functions which are characterized by having a constant rate of change.
Now, we will more formally introduce the concept of an exponential function.

Example 4 Consider the exponential function f (x )=8(2 )x . Answer the following.

(a) Evaluate each of the following and indicate what point must lie on the graph of f (x) based
on each:

(i) f (2) = (ii) f (0) = (iii) f (-1) =

(b) Calculate the average rate of change of f over the interval 1  x  0 . Remember average
y 2− y 1
m=
rate of change is slope: x 2−x 1

(c) Calculate the average rate of change over the interval 0  x  2.

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 (d) What does comparing answers from (b) and (c) tell you about this function? Explain.

(e) Using your calculator, draw a sketch of this function on the axes below using the window
indicated. (Set your windows to that of the graph below – menu, 4:window/zoom,
1: window settings.) Label the y-intercept on the graph and identify the domain and range.

Domain:

Range:

The x-axis is called a __________________________________________________________________.

“A horizontal line the graph approaches.” Make sure your graph does not touch or cross the x-axis.

Exponential functions are all about multiplication. The basic form of an exponential function is given below.

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Practice #1

A)

B)

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Let’s work some more with exponential functions to develop a better sense for them.

x
1
Example 5 Consider the function
g( x)=54
3 () .

(a) Evaluate g 0) . What point does this indicate on the graph of g?

(b) Without the use of your calculator, determine the values of g(1) and g(2).

(c) Using your graphing calculator, sketch a graph of this function using the following
WINDOW settings: Domain: 2  x  4 and Range:  10  y  100 .
Mark the y-intercept.

(d) Why is this exponential function always decreasing while the one in Example 4 is always
increasing?

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CONCLUSION:

Example 6 For each of the following exponential functions, give its y-intercept and tell whether it is
increasing or decreasing.

Example 7 Find the equation of the exponential function, in y=a(b)x form, for the function given in the
table below. Show or explain your thinking.

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Practice #2

A)

B)

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 Linear Versus Exponential

Linear and exponential functions share many characteristics. This is because they are based on two different,
but similar, sets of principles.

 Linear functions are based on repeatedly adding the same amount (the slope).
 Exponential functions are based on repeatedly multiplying by the same amount (the base).

Example 8 The two tables below represent a linear function and an exponential function. Which is which?
Explain how you arrive at your answer.

Example 9 Find equations in standard form for each of the functions from Example 8.

(a) Table 1 (b) Table 2

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Recall that linear functions have a constant average rate of change (slope). That is, of course, why they have a
constant amount added for every constant change in x. Let’s examine the average rate of change for an
increasing exponential.

x
Example 10 The exponential function y=4(2) is shown partially in the table below. Find the average rate
of change over the various intervals given.

(e) What is clearly happening to the average rate of change as x gets larger?

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The fact that the slope of an increasing exponential is always increasing has an interesting consequence.

Example 11 Consider the linear function y  20x  5 and the exponential function y=5(2)x . Both
functions have a y-intercept of 5, so “start” in the same location.

(a) Using your calculator, sketch these two curves on the axes below for the indicated window.

y 20 x  5 y=5(2)x

(b) Although the line appears to rise more quickly than the exponential, at first, the exponential
eventually catches up and surpasses the linear. Why will an increasing exponential function
always catch up with an increasing linear function?

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 Percent Increase and Decrease

We would like to develop and understand methods for increasing and decreasing a number by a certain percent.
We will start with the increasing case.

Example 12 Agronomists are studying how quickly the population of an invasive species of beetle will
increase in a controlled farm setting. They calculate that the population is increasing at a steady
rate of 6% per week. At the beginning of the week, the population was 350 beetles.

(a) Find the population of beetles a week later by first finding 6% of 350 and adding it to the
original population.

(b) Find the population of beetles a week later by a single multiplication. How can you interpret
this in terms of the 6%?

(c) What will be the beetle population after two weeks?

The ability to increase a total by a certain percent using this method is important.

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(Think: 100% + INCREASING %)

Example 13 Find the result of each of the following. Many of your answers will involve decimals. Do not
round.

(a) Increasing 440 by 12% (b) Increasing 68 by 8% (c) Increasing 120 by 3.5%

Example 14 Adriana has a saving account that promises to increase her balance by 2.5% per year. If she
deposits $720 in it at the beginning of the year, which of the following would be her balance at
the end of the year if she does not withdraw or deposit any additional money?

(1) $900 (3) $738

(2) $842 (4) $756

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We would also like to work with decreasing by a certain percent. This will follow a similar, if not identical,
pattern to the increasing case. Again, let’s understand what is going on with an introductory problem.

Example 15 A cup of coffee is cooling down such that its temperature is decreasing at a constant rate of 8%
per minute. Let’s say the coffee starts at a temperature of 200 F .

(a) Find its temperature after one minute by finding 8% of 200 and then subtracting.

(b) Find its temperature after one minute by finding a single product. How can you interpret this
in terms of the 8%?

(c) What will the temperature of the coffee be after two minutes? Round to the nearest degree.

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Decreasing by a certain percent is an important skill to be fluent with as well. It often is harder for students
because they need to think about what percent remains. (Think: 100% - DECREASING %)

Example 16 The enrollment of students at a school is decreasing at a constant rate of 5% per year.

(a) What percent remains after one year?

(b) If the population this year is 2300, what will its population be next year? Do in a single
calculation.

Example 17 Find the result of each of the following. Many of your answers will involve decimals. Do not
round. Write the calculations you use to find yours answers.

(a) Decrease 620 by 10% (b) Decrease $22.50 by 8% (c) Decrease 122 by 3.5%

Example 18 The cost of gasoline has decreased recently by 4.5%. If it started at $3.80 per gallon, which of
the following is its price after the decrease?

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Practice #3

A) A savings account grows by 3% per year. Sofia places $500 in the account at the beginning of the year.

(a) How much does Sofia have at the end of the year once her $500 has been increased by 3%?

(b) How much does Sofia have at the end of the second year based on increasing your answer
from part (a) by 3%?

(c) Did the amount of money in Sofia’s account grow faster the first year or the second year? Explain
how you arrived at your answer. Use proper units in your explanation.

B) An environmental firm is removing pollution from a riverbed. They find that the pollution is decreasing
at a rate of 5% per month, as measured by parts per million. The pollution starts off at a level of 360
parts per million (ppm).

(a) What is the pollution level one month after they begin clean-up? Use appropriate units.

(b) What is the level two months after? Use appropriate units.

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 Exponential Models

There are many examples of growth in the real world that occur at a constant percent rate. These phenomena
give rise to exponential functions. These functions will be easy to build and understand if you felt comfortable
with the last lesson on percent growth and decay.

Example 19 A population of fruit flies is growing at a constant rate of 6% per hour. The population starts, at
t  0 , with 28 flies.

(a) Using what we learned in the last lesson, determine the population after each of the following
amounts of time. Show the calculation you use as repeated multiplication.

(b) Based on (a), find a formula that models the population, P, as a function of the time in
hours, t.

(c) What is the value of P(24) ? Round to the nearest whole number.

(d) What does the calculation you made in (c) represent about the fly population? State the range
of the population function over the domain interval 0  t  24 .

(e) Using your calculator, sketch a graph of this function over the interval 0  t  24 and
0  P  120. Mark the y-intercept.

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Exponential growth is easy to model and to interpret in the model. Consider the following example.

Example 20 If the savings in a bank account can be modeled by the function S(t )=250 ¿ . Which of the
following is true?

(1) The initial amount deposited was $250 and the interest earned is 45%.
(2) The initial amount deposited was $2.50 and the interest rate is 4.5%.
(3) The initial amount deposited was $250 and the interest rate is 4.5%.
(4) The initial amount deposited was $2.50 and the interest rate is 45%.

We should also be able to model exponentially decreasing phenomena based on what we learned in the last
lesson about percent decrease. Remember to always model based on the percent that remains.

Example 21 As water drains out of a pool, the depth of the water decreases at a constant percent rate of 20%
per hour. The depth of the water, when the draining begins, is 12 feet.

(a) Find the depth, D, of the water in the pool after each of the following times, t.

t = 1 hr, D = ______ t = 2 hrs, D = _____ t = 3 hrs, D = _____

(b) Based on (a), create an equation that gives the depth, D, of the water in the pool as a function
of the time in hours it has been draining, t.

(c) Using your calculator, graph of your function over the interval 0  t  2 and 0  D  15 .
Mark the y-intercept with its value.

(d) It’s safe to cover the pool after it reaches a depth of 1 foot or less. What is the minimum
number of whole hours that we should wait to cover the pool? Explain how you found your
answer.

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Example 22 Which of the following equations would model an exponential quantity that begins at a level of
16 and decreases at a constant rate of 8% per hour?

(1) Q=16 (0.92)t (3) Q=16 (1.08)t

(2) Q=16 +0.92t (4) Q=16 (−7)t

Example 23 If $350 is placed in a savings account that earns 3.5% interest applied once a year, then how
much would the savings account be worth after 10 years? Show your work.

(1) $522.88 (3) $472.50

(2) $426.34 (4) $493.71

SUMMARY

Exponential Growth Model y=a(b )x where a is the initial amount and b=1+%

x
Exponential Decay Model y=a(b ) where a is the initial amount and b=1−%

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Practice #4

A) If a flock of ducks is growing by 6% per year and starts with a population of 68, how many ducks will
be in the flock after 10 years? Show how you arrived at your answer.

(1) 109 (3) 122

(2) 198 (4) 408

B) A bank account earns interest at a rate of 3.5% per year (in other words it increases in value by that
percent) and starts with a balance of $350. Which of the following equations would give the account’s
worth, W, as a function of the number of years, y, it has been gaining interest?

(1) W =350(1.035) y (3) W =350(0.35) y

(2) W =1.035 y+350 (4) W =1.35 y+350

∘
C) The temperature, in F, of a cooling cup of coffee is given below as a function of the number of
minutes, m, it has been cooling.

T (m)=114 ¿

(a) Find T (0) and using proper units, give a physical interpretation of your answer.

(b) By what percent per minute is the coffee cooling?

∘
(c) If I like my coffee when it is a nice temperature of around 100 F. How long should I wait, to the
nearest hundredth of a minute? Show how you arrived at your answer.

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 Exponential Regressions

Previously, we learned how to input 2 variables (bivariate) into a spread sheet on the graphing calculator,
construct a scatter plot, and write the equation for the line of best fit (linear regression). We then used that line
to make predictions within the data set (interpolate) and outside the data set (extrapolate). In addition, we
used the r-value (correlation coefficient) to determine how well our regression fit the data and what type of
relationship (correlation), if any, the variables have.
Sometimes, though, linear models are not the best choice. We can fit data with all sorts of functions, including
exponential. Let’s look at the next example.
Example 24 If a cup of coffee is left on a countertop, it will cool off slowly. The following table shows the
temperature, y, of a cup of coffee sitting for 50 minutes.

Time 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
x

Temp 0F 176 162 146 135 126 118 112 107 102 99 96
y

(a) Use the information above to make a scatter plot of the coffee temperature, y, as a function of time, x.
What type of function does this appear to look like?

(b) Use the regression capability of your calculator to obtain an equation for an exponential regression
(exponential function y=a ¿) that could model the data. Round all values to three decimal place values.

(c) Find the correlation coefficient (r-value), rounded to the nearest thousandth. Explain its meaning.

(d) Explain what information the a and b values give you in your equation from part (b). Be specific.

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(e) Use your equation from part (b) to find the temperature of the coffee in 18 minutes. Round your answer
to the nearest degree. Show how you arrived at your answer. Is this an example of interpolation or
extrapolation? Why?

(f) Use your equation from part (b) to find the time it will take for the coffee to reach a temperature of 85o.
Round your answer to the nearest minute. Show how you would arrive at your answer and then use
nsolve.

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Example 25 The population of Lalaland from 2000 to 2020 is shown in the accompanying table. The
population, P(t), is shown in millions, and the year, t, is shown such that t = 0 represents the year
2000, and t = 20 represents the year 2020.

time 0 5 10 15 20
(t)
population 0.891 1.075 1.302 1.506 1.893
P(t)

Molly is trying to determine which type of regression will best model the data. She decides to calculate
the r-value for both a linear regression (line of best fit) and an exponential regression (curve of best fit).
Her statistics are below.

Linear Regression Exponential Regression

r -value 0.9888 0.9983

(a) Which regression model should Molly use? Explain your answer.

(b) Explain the meaning of the r-value in the context of the problem.

Practice #5

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A) The population of Lalaland from 2000 to 2020 is shown in the accompanying table. The population,
P(t), is shown in millions, and the year, t, is shown such that t = 0 represents the year 2000, and t = 20
represents the year 2020.

time 0 5 10 15 20
(t)
population 0.891 1.075 1.302 1.506 1.893
P(t)

(a) Use the information above to make a scatter plot of the population, P(t), as a function of time, t.

(b) Use the regression capability of your calculator to obtain an equation for an exponential function
(exponential regression) that could model the data. Round all values to three decimal place values.

(c) Explain what information the a and b values give you.

(d) Find the correlation coefficient (r-value), rounded to the nearest thousandth. Explain its meaning.

(e) Use your equation from part b to predict the population of Lalaland in the year 2030. Round your
answer to the nearest thousandth. Show how you arrived at your answer.

Geometric Sequences

Exponential functions have their own sequence version and those are called geometric sequences. Let’s look at
the next example.
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Example 26 This is Brody’s sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, …

(a) What is the next term in Brody’s sequence? Explain how you arrived at your answer.

(b) Is Brody’s sequence arithmetic? Explain.

(c) Graph the first 6 terms of Brody’s sequence on the graph below. Connect the first 6 terms of
Brody’s sequence with a smooth curve.

GEOMETRIC SEQUENCES

Given the first term,

a1 , then each successive term can be found recursively by

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 f (n)=f (n−1)⋅r or
an =an−1⋅r

r is called the “common ratio”. In other words, r is the ¿/¿ pattern. r = 2nd term ¿ 1st term.

Example 27 Explain why Brody’s sequence is geometric. Be specific. Write the recursive formula for
Brody’s sequence.

Example 28 For each of the following geometric sequences identify the common ratio, r, and give the next
two terms.

(a) 2, 6, 18, _______, _______ (b) 4, -20,100, _______, _______ (c) 16, 8, 4, _______, _______

r= r= r=

As with arithmetic sequences, we should be able to find any term in the geometric sequence by creating an
explicit formula.

Example 29 Consider the geometric sequence given by the recursive rule:

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 b(1 )=24
1
b(n )=b (n−1 )⋅
2

Find b(2) , b(3), and b(4) . Write each as an extended product to see a pattern, but also find the final result.

GEOMETRIC SEQUENCES

Given the first term,

a1 , then each term can be found explicitly by

f (n)=f (1 )⋅r n−1 or an =a1⋅r n−1

r is called the “common ratio”. In other words, r is the ¿/¿ pattern. r = 2nd term ¿ 1st term.
The explicit formula for a geometric sequence is on the Common Core Reference Sheet.

Now, write the explicit formula from the example above.

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