MTH 111 Week 1 (9/2 - 9/6) Smith

Welcome to the semester!

Say some greeting stuff!

1.1 - Functions and Change

This section is assumed knowledge for this course. Below are the important definitions to
have from this section. If these are new to you, or are long forgotten, please do the optional
Wiley assignment for this section.
Definitions.

• A function is a rule that takes certain numbers as inputs and assigns to each a single
output number. The set of all inputs is called the domain of the function and the set
of all outputs is called the range of the function.

• A linear function us any function which can be expressed in the form

y = f (x) = mx + b.

Its graph is a line where

– m is the slope, or rate of change of y with respect to x.

– b is the vertical intercept, or value of y when x is zero.

• A function f is increasing if the valuse of f (x) increase (or stay constant) as x increases.

• A function f is decreasing if the valuse of f (x) decrease (or stay constant) as x de-
creases.

• A function f (x) is monotonic if it increases for all x or decreases for all x (i.e. never
constant and always either growing or shrinking with x).

• We say that the variable y is proportional to x if there is a nonzero constant k such

that
y = kx
This k is called the constant of proportionality.

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1.2 - Exponential Functions
Concavity
Definition: Let f be a function.

• The graph of f is concave up if it bends upward as we move from left to right.

• Similarly, the graph is concave down if it bends downward we move from left to right.

Draw them!

Note: a line is neither concave up nor concave down (for now we will treat this as an
arbitrary rule, but we will see why this is true later).

The Exponential Function

Definition: We say that a function P is an exponential function of t with base a if

P = P 0 at ,

where P0 is is the initial quantity (when t = 0) and a is the factor by which P changes when
t increase by 1. If a > 1, we have exponential growth; if 0< a <1, we have exponential decay.

Note: the percent rate of change r of an exponential function (in the general form) can be
found by the following formula:
r = a − 1.
Example 1: When a patient is administered the antibiotic Ampicilin, the drug enters their
bloodstream and passes through their kidneys where it is metabolised and eliminated at a
rate of about 40% per hour. If a patient is administered 250mg of ampicilin, express the rate
at which the Ampicilin is eliminated as an exponential function and determine whether said
function is an example of exponential growth or decay.
Solution. If f is the function which describes the amount of Ampicilin present in the patient’s
blood, then the general exponential form of f is

f (t) = 250(0.6)t ,

where 250 is the initial amount of the drug and 0.6 = 1−0.4 is the base of the function. Since
the base of our function is 0.6 < 1, f is an example of a function which decays exponentially.

Notice that over time, the amount of the drug which is eliminated after each hour decreases.

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Example 2: Find a formula for the following graph of an exponential function:
Draw an exponential curve and label two points

Definition: The half-life of a decaying quantity is the time it takes for the quantity to be
reduced by 50% (or one half). The doubling-time of an increasing quantity is the time
required for the quantity to double.

In the previous example, we had a decreasing function, of which the half-life was... (check
this!)

The Family of Exponential Functions

The formula P = P0 at gives a family of exponential functions with positive parameters P0
(the initial quantity) and a (the base, or growth/decay rate). As we saw above, the base tells
us if the function is increasing or decreasing, and the initial quantity tells us the y-intercept
of the graph.
Example 2: Draw two families of exponential functions.

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Note: look at example 2 in the text to see how we can compare these function-families.

Exponential Functions with Base e

Definition: Any exponential growth function can also be written, for some a > 1 and k > 0,
in the form
P = P0 at or P = P0 ekt
and any exponential decay function can be written, for some 0 < a < 1 and −k > 0, as

Q = Q0 at or Q = Q0 e−kt ,

where P0 and Q0 are the initial quantities.

We say that P and Q are growing or decaying (resp.) at a continuous rate of k.

Example 3: Consider the function f (t) = e0.5t . Determine whether f is an example of

exponential growth or decay and express f in the general form for exponential functions.

Linear vs. Exponential

Example 4: Determine whether each of the following tables could represent a linear function
or an exponential function and justify.
Write out a short table for a linear function and an exponential function and solve.