PROJECT FUNCTIONS B

Duck and human Dragon and human

years chart years chart PLAN
Duck and human ages function
These points are most likely to form something close
to a linear function, even if the values would not fully
align

Dragon and human ages function

Upon first look, these points look like a piecewise
function, starting with a logarithmic one which
becomes a linear one after the fourth human year.
However, there is also a possibility that a piecewise
function including several linear functions could
better model this.

I will be plugging all the formulas for these functions

in the same desmos page so that the points and the
new functions overlap each other, this way I will be
able to identify which model fits best for the
information. I will also be adjusting the values of
each variable in the function formula through the
sliders on desmos.

X: human years X: human years

Y: duck years Y: dragon years
 DUCK AND HUMAN AGES FUNCTION

I plugged the formula for a linear function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏

(although I wrote it as 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑤𝑥 + 𝑢 here) into desmos
and added sliders for both 𝑤 and 𝑢. I moved the slider
around until the slope of the line looked appropriate. I
knew 𝑢 would be zero because this is a proportional
linear function.

Therefore, the equation of the line that best fits the data is
𝑦 = 4. 2𝑥

Since human years are represented in the x-axis and duck years are represented in the y-axis, what this equation
represents is that duck years are generally 4.2 times that of humans. 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 × 4. 2
 DRAGON AND HUMAN AGES FUNCTION

Try 1
I first tried my idea with the logarithmic function by plugging
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑑𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑏 (𝑎𝑥 − 𝑠) + 𝑐 into desmos and adding sliders
for each variable

𝑓(𝑥) = 5. 2𝑙𝑜𝑔2.6(8. 1𝑥 + 1. 9) − 7. 4 was the logarithmic

function that seemed the closest to the first part, however, it
is quite obvious that it doesn’t fit quite right, so I discarded
this first idea

The second part did seem to be correct as it completely aligned with the points, this was a pretty straightforward
linear function

𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 8 {4 < 𝑥 < 25}

The last part is the domain, as this is a piecewise function.

The slope is one, meaning that after this point, the dragon's age increases at the same rate as a human’s age,
𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = 1 × ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠

Try 2
I next tried combining three linear functions together, using 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 8 {4 < 𝑥 < 25} as a part of this one aswell.
The first function only applies to the first two years of age because the domain is 𝑥 ∈ (1, 2). The equation of this
function could be found by plugging the points into the linear function equation or by using the sliders

𝑓(𝑥) = 3𝑥 + 2

This equation suggests that for every human year, dragons age 3 years, although this only applies to the second
year of life. The x-intercept suggests that this function cannot really model for the first year of life, since it assumes
that in the year 0, meaning a newborn, dragons are 2 years old, which is nonsensical. This function is only
applicable from the first year to the second one.

The second function extends from the second year to the fourth since the domain is 𝑥 ∈ (2, 4). The equation of this
line is 𝑓(𝑥) = 2𝑥 + 4, which means that at these ages, dragons age twice as fast as humans.

FINAL FUNCTION:
 ➔ Evaluate errors between the given data and modeled data for the animal age of
5 years.

For this next step, I used my Casio graphing calculator as I felt more comfortable finding values and carrying out
specific operations on it.

Duck and human age

function
As seen here, 𝑓(𝑥) = 4. 2𝑥
and the line connecting the
data points, do not overlap in
this area and do not have the
same value for 𝑥 when 𝑦 = 5 .
In my model this point would
be (1.19047619,5), to find this
point I used the G-Solv tool on
my calculator and plugged in
the value of Y into the X-calc
option
While in the line connecting
the data points it would be
(1.25,5). The difference is not
that big but it is definitely
worth noting.
There is data missing that could change the trajectory of the line connecting the original data points,
however, given the information provided, my model is not entirely accurate. What these points mean is that
a duck at the human age of 1 year and 2 or 3 months is 5 years old in duck years. The variation is
realistically only in months or weeks.

Dragon and human age function

In this case, the dragon age of 5 years as well as the
corresponding human age are provided. The only
possible cause for concern with this is the rate at
which the dragon would age before the age of 5.
Since this is the first human year, in order to have an
accurate model including the time between birth and
the first year, data based on months as opposed to
years, would be required.

➔ Using the model, what is the real age of each animal that corresponds to a
human age of 11 years?
 Duck and human age function
I also used my graphing calculator to find the y-coordinate in
my function when 𝑥 = 11. Which was, again, not the same as
the data, in this case, it was different since (11,46) was an
original data point, however, I chose a function that did not
even pass through some data points. The reason for this is that
I tried having a sort of average. In reality, a duck would be 46
years old in duck years and 11 years old in human years, but in
my model, this duck would be a couple of months older.

Dragon and human age function

In this case, again, the data
had already been provided
The dragon age which
corresponds to the human age
of 11 years, is 19 years

➔ Using the models, when do both animals have the corresponding same human
age?

Here are both models combined, including

both the original data points as well as the
functions I settled on

I also included a zoomed-in version of all the

intersections present.
The original data points suggest that both animals have the exact same age at 2 human years, along with their
corresponding animal years both being 8. However, the duck-human function I modeled is slightly off yet again, in
which case the intersection of both animals’ functions would be at (1.667,7), which is slightly less than a human
year compared to the data points and a year less in animal years.
CONCLUSION

The piecewise previously included is the best fit for the relation between dragon years and human years, in
fact, it fits with the provided data perfectly. Based on this, it can be inferred that dragons age a lot faster in the early
years, and their aging becomes more similar to that of humans as they grow older. This function would continue
until the dragon’s death, but the domain has been made to include up until 25 human years for the sake of
simplicity. The function developed to represent the relation between duck years and human years was definitely a
lot more flawed, seeing as 𝑓(𝑥) = 4. 2𝑥 might have been too large of a generalization. However, it does serve as a
decent model despite the slight inconsistencies with the original data points. It offers good enough information from
where some assumptions can be derived. For example, based on this model, it can be assumed that ducks age
faster than humans, and will as a result probably have shorter life expectancies. I think this model could have been
more specific and accurate if a piecewise function was used, this was undesirable because I intended to find the
most simplified possible best-fit function, and modeling such a varied set of data as a piecewise function would be
tedious, and over-complicated. Overall, I believe this project was fairly successful, although I do believe that more
accurate models could have been possible if the data had been based on months instead of years.