APPLYING EXPONENTIAL EQUATIONS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS When finding the Initial

When finding the APPRECIATION: y = a(1+r)t amount, just plug into

Final amount, DEPRECIATION: y = a(1-r)t the correct formula,
just plug into the  r
nt
simplify the right side
COMPOUNDED GROWTH (MONEY): y  a1   and then divide into the
correct formula  n
and calculate! BACTERIA GROWTH OR DECAY final amount!
COMPOUNDED CONTINUOUSLY
y = aekt or y = aert

THINK “F.I.R.T” y = Final Amount (F) ; a is the initial amount (I) ; r or k is the rate as a decimal (R); t is the time (T)
or “F.I.R.N.T” – n – number of times compounded

Finding the FINAL amount Finding the Initial amount

1. The population of Johnson City in 1995 was 25,000.
Since then, the population has grown at an average rate
of 3.2% each year. Write an equation to model the
growth and find the population of Johnson City in the
year 2005.
F – ________
5. Louisa read that the population of her town has
increased steadily at a rate of 2% each year. Today, the
population of her town has grown to 68,735. Based on
this information, what was to population of her town
100 years ago?

I – _________

R -- ________
6. Your parents gave you a car for your 16th birthday.
T -- ________ Once you finish college, you decide it is time to trade it
2. You buy a new computer for $2100. The value of in. Kelly Blue Book says it is worth $2125. It has
the computer decreases by about 50% annually. depreciated at a rate of 7% for 6 years. How much did
Write an exponential decay model for the value of the your parents pay for the car?
computer. Use the model to estimate the value after 2
years.
F – ________

I – _________ 7. You want to have $2500 after 2 years. Find the

amount you should deposit for each of the situations
R -- ________ described below:

T -- ________ a) The account pays 2.25% annual interest

3. You deposit $1600 in a bank account. Find the compounded monthly.
balance after 3 years for each of the following
situations: b) The account pays 2% interest compounded
a) The account pays 2.5% compounded monthly. quarterly.
b) The account pays 1.75% annual interest compounded
quarterly.
c) The account pays 4% annual interest compounded
yearly.
F – ________
I – _________
R -- ________
N -- ________ 8. Dekorie has $3000 in an account in the bank that is
T -- ________ compounded continuously at an interest rate of 2.1%. If
4. Horatio opens a bank account that pays 2.3% annual she deposited the money 10 years ago, how much did
interest compounded continuously. He makes an initial she deposit?
deposit of $10,000. What will be the balance of the
account in 10 years?
F -- _________
I -- __________
R -- __________
T -- __________
 When finding APPLYING EXPONENTIAL EQUATIONS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS When finding the time,
APPRECIATION: y = a(1+r)t
the rate, divide DEPRECIATION: y = a(1-r)t divide by the initial then
by the initial nt take the log!
 r
and then take COMPOUNDED GROWTH (MONEY): y  a1   Double means 2 =
 n
the “tth” root! Triple means 3 =
BACTERIA GROWTH OR DECAY
COMPOUNDED CONTINUOUSLY 1
Half life means =
y = aekt or y = aert 2

THINK “F.I.R.T” y = Final Amount (F) ; a is the initial amount (I) ; r or k is the rate as a decimal (R); t is the time (T)
or “F.I.R.N.T” – n – number of times compounded

Finding the rate Finding the time

9. In a laboratory, an organism grows from 100 to 250 in
8 hours. What is the hourly growth rate in the growth
formula y  a (1  r ) t ?
13. There are currently 850 students at the high school,
which represents full capacity. The town plans an
addition to house 400 more students. If the school
population grows at 7.8% per year, in how many years
will the new addition be full?

10. A new car was purchased in 1990 for $14,000. 3

years later the car is valued at $5600. What is the rate of
depreciation?
14. A Global Positioning Satellite system uses satellite
information to locate ground position. Abu’s surveying
firm bought a GPS system for $12,500. The GPS
depreciated by a fixed rate of 6% and is now worth
$8600. How long ago did Abu buy the GPS system?

11. In 1994, your parents opened a college savings

account for you and deposited $5000 that is
compounded monthly. When you graduate from high
school in 2012 the account is worth $7837. What was
the interest rate on the account, assuming they did not 15. In 2001, Travis deposited $4000 in an account that
make any other deposits? has 4.5% interest compounded quarterly. How many
years will it take his money to double? Triple?

12. The element plutonium-239 is highly radioactive. 16. A certain element decays at a rate of .012%. What
Nuclear reactors can produce and also use this element. is the elements’ half life? (Use the formula
The heat that plutonium – 239 has helped to power A  A0 e kt )
equipment to the moon. If the half life of plutonium-
239 is 24, 360 years, what is the value of k for this
element? (Use the formula A  A0 e )
kt

17. The equation A  A0 e describes the growth of

rt

the world’s population where A is the population at time

t, A0 is the population a t = 0, and r is the annual growth
rate. How long will it take a population of 6.5 billion to
increase to 9 billion if the annual growth rate is 2%