MEI AS Maths Exponentials and logarithms

Topic assessment
1. Write log x − 3log 2 y + 4log z as a single logarithm. [2]

p
2. Express log in terms of log p, log q and log r. [2]
qr 2

3. Solve the following equations;

(a) 32 x = 5 [2]
(b) 2ex = 3e− x + 5 [3]
(c) ln(2 x + 1) = ln x + 2 [3]
giving your answers in exact form.

4. The temperature TC of the water in a kettle t minutes after boiling is modelled by the
equation T = 20 + 80e−0.5t.
(a) What is the initial temperature of the water? [1]
(b) Find the temperature of the water after 5 minutes. [2]
(c) Find the time at which the temperature of the water is 30°C. [3]
(d) Find the initial rate of cooling, and the rate of cooling after 2 minutes. [3]
(e) What will the long-term temperature of the water be? [1]

5. In an experiment, the number of bacteria, N, in a culture was estimated at time t days after
the experiment started.
The results were as follows:

t 1 2 3 4 5 6
N 120 170 250 400 620 910

It is believed that the relationship between N and t can be expressed in the form
N = abt
where a and b are constants.

(a) Use logarithms to draw a linear graph. [3]

(b) Use your graph to estimate the values of a and b. [3]
(c) Estimate the number of bacteria present after 20 days. State, with a reason, whether
your estimate is likely to be a good one. [2]

6. The equation log3 (2 x + p) = 2log 3 (2 x) − 1 has one real root. What is the value of p? [5]

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 MEI AS Maths Exponentials & logs Assessment

7. It is believed that two quantities, x and y, are connected by a relationship of the form
y = kx n , where k and n are constants.
In an experiment, the following data were produced.

x 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
y 9 24 48 69 102 131 166

To test the relationship Allegra has plotted the points on the graph below and drawn on a
line of best fit:

(a) Use Allegra’s graph to estimate the values of k and n. [3]

(b) Use Allegra’s model to estimate the value of y when x = 60.
Comment upon the reliability of this estimate. [2]

Total 40 marks

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