Exploring Exponential Growth: Real-Life Applications

A population of bacteria doubles every hour. If there are initially 100 bacteria, how many will there be after 5 hours? Graph the function that represents this growth.

• 3200

• 6400

• 800

• 1500

A car's value decreases by 20% each year. If the car is worth $20,000 now, what will its value be in 3 years? Use exponent rules to express this as a function and graph it.

• $10,240

• $15,000

• $8,000

• $12,000

A tree grows at a rate of 3 times its height every year. If the tree is 2 feet tall now, how tall will it be after 4 years? Write the equation and graph the growth.

• 162 feet

• 48 feet

• 12 feet

• 81 feet

If a certain investment grows at a rate of 5% per year, how much will an initial investment of $1,000 be worth after 10 years? Convert this to an exponential function and graph it.

• The investment will be worth approximately $1,628.89 after 10 years.

• $2,000 after 10 years

• $1,200 after 10 years

• $1,500 after 10 years

A smartphone's battery life decreases to half its capacity every 2 years. If the battery lasts 10 hours now, how long will it last in 6 years? Use exponent rules to find the answer and graph the decay.

• 5 hours

• 8 hours

• 1.25 hours

• 2.5 hours

A certain type of plant grows exponentially, doubling its height every month. If it starts at 1 inch, how tall will it be after 6 months? Write the function and graph it.

• 32 inches

• 16 inches

• 64 inches

• 128 inches

A computer's processing speed doubles every 18 months. If it starts at 2 GHz, what will its speed be in 3 years? Use exponent rules to express this and graph the growth.

• 4 GHz

• 16 GHz

• 1 GHz

• 8 GHz

A city’s population is projected to grow exponentially. If the current population is 1 million and it is expected to double every 10 years, what will the population be in 30 years? Write the function and graph it.

• 10 million

• 2 million

• 8 million

• 4 million