Exponential Growth and Decay

1. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 2x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y

b) Plot the graph of y = 2x on the axes below.

20

15

10

0
0 5

c) Use your graph to estimate the value of x when y = 7.

2. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 20.5x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y

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 Exponential Growth and Decay

b) Plot the graph of y = 20.5x on the axes below.

10

0
0 5

3. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 3x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y

b) Plot the graph of y = 3x on the axes below.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5

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 Exponential Growth and Decay

4. State the value of the y-intercept for any graph of the form y = ax

5. Sketch the graph of y = a–x, identifying the y-intercept. Does the graph ever reach the x-axis?




6. Water in a beaker evaporates at a rate of 3% per day. At the start of the experiment, there is 800ml
of water in the beaker.

a) Write an equation to represent the amount of water in the beaker at any time. Let y represent
the amount of water left in the beaker, in ml, and t represent the time, in days, after the start of
the experiment.

b) Use your equation to calculate the amount of water in the beaker after 5 days.

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Exponential Growth and Decay Answers
1. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 2x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y 1 2 4 8 16

b) Plot the graph of y = 2x on the axes below.

20

15

10

0
0 5

c) Use your graph to estimate the value of x when y = 7.

A solution between 2.7 and 2.9.

2. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 20.5x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y 1 1.4 2 2.8 4

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 Exponential Growth and Decay Answers

b) Plot the graph of y = 20.5x on the axes below.

10

0
0 5

3. a) Complete the table for the equation y = 3x

x 0 1 2 3 4
y 1 3 9 27 81

b) Plot the graph of y = 3x on the axes below.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5

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 Exponential Growth and Decay Answers

4. State the value of the y-intercept for any graph of the form y = ax

(0, 1) or y = 1

5. Sketch the graph of y = a–x, identifying the y-intercept. Does the graph ever reach the x-axis?

(-1, a)

(0, 1)

No, the graph will get closer and closer to the x-axis but never touch it. The x-axis forms an asymptote.

6. Water in a beaker evaporates at a rate of 3% per day. At the start of the experiment, there is 800ml
of water in the beaker.

a) Write an equation to represent the amount of water in the beaker at any time. Let y represent
the amount of water left in the beaker, in ml, and t represent the time, in days, after the start of
the experiment.

y = 800 × 〖0.97t

b) Use your equation to calculate the amount of water in the beaker after 5 days.

y = 800 × 〖0.975 = 687ml (correct to 3s.f.)

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