Exponential Growth and

Decay

Section 3.5
 Objectives
• Solve word problems requiring
exponential models.
Find the time required for an
investment of $5000 to grow
to $6800 at an interest rate
of 7.5% compounded
quarterly.
The population of a certain city was
292000 in 1998, and the observed
relative growth rate is 2% per year.

• Find a function that models the

population after t years.
• Find the projected population in
the year 2004.
• In what year will the population
reach 365004?
The count in a bacteria culture was
600 after 15 minutes and 16054
after 35 minutes. Assume that
growth can be modeled exponentially
by a function of the form A(t )  Pe
rt

where t is in minutes.
• Find the relative growth rate.
• What was the initial size of the culture?
• Find the doubling period in minutes.
• Find the population after 110 minutes.
• When will the population reach 15000?
The half-life of strontium-90 is 28
years. Suppose we have a 80 mg
sample.

• Find a function that models the

mass m(t) remaining after t
years.
• How much of the sample will
remain after 100 years?
• How long will it take the sample
to decay to a mass of 20 mg?
A wooden artifact from an
ancient tomb contains 35% of the
carbon-14 that is present in living
trees. How long ago was the
artifact made? (The half-life of
carbon-14 is 5730 years.)
An infectious strain of bacteria increases
in number at a relative growth rate of
190% per hour. When a certain critical
number of bacteria are present in the
bloodstream, a person becomes ill. If a
single bacterium infects a person, the
critical level is reached in 24 hours. How
long will it take for the critical level to be
reached if the same person is infected
with 10 bacteria?