Applications of Exponential Functions

The best thing about exponential functions is that they are so useful in real world
situations. Exponential functions are used to model populations, carbon date artifacts,
help coroners determine time of death, compute investments, as well as many other
applications.
We will discuss in this lesson three of the most common applications: population
growth, exponential decay, and compound interest. For other applications,
consult your textbook or ask your teacher for additional examples.
1. Population
Many times scientists will start with a certain number of bacteria or animals and watch
how the population grows. For example, if the population doubles every 5 days, this
can be represented as an exponential function. Most populationmodels involve using
the number e. To learn more about e, click here (link to exp-log-e and ln.doc)
Population models can occur two ways. One way is if we are given an exponential
function. The second way involves coming up with an exponential equation based on
information given. Lets look at each of these separately.
Let's Practice:
i.

The population of a city is P = 250,342e0.012t where t = 0 represents

the population in the year 2000.
a. Find the population of the city in the year 2010.

To find the population in the year 2010, we need to let t = 10 in our given equation.
P = 250,342e0.012(10) = 250,342e0.12 = 282,259.82
Since we are dealing with the population of a city, we normally round to a whole
number, in this case 282,260 people.
b. Find the population of the city in the year 2015.
To find the population in the year 2015, we need to let t = 15.
P = 250,342e0.012(15) = 250,342e0.18 = 299,713.8
Well round this answer to 299,714 people.
c. Find when the population will be 320,000.
We know the population in the year 2015 is almost 300,000 from our work in part (b).
So it makes sense that the answer has to be higher than 2015. Remember that P in
the equation represents thepopulation value, which we are given to be 320,000. Only
now we do not know the time value t. Theequation we need to solve is
320,000 = 250,342e0.012(t)
To review solving exponential equation, click here.

So it will take between 20 and 21 years for the population to reach 320,000. This
means between the years 2020 and 2021 the population will be 320,000.
Summary: Before we do the next example, lets look at a general form
for population models. Most of the time, we start with an equation that looks like
P = Poekt

P represents the population after a certain amount of time

Po represents the initial population or the population at the beginning

k represents the growth (or decay) rate

t represents the amount of time

Remember that e is not a variable, it has a numeric value. We do not replace it

with information given to us in the problem.

Let's Practice this once more:

ii.

A scientist starts with 100 bacteria in an experiment. After 5 days, she discovers
that the population has grown to 350.
a. Determine an equation for this bacteria population.

To find the equation, we need to know values for Po and k. Remember the equation is in
the form P = Poekt. where P, e, and t are all parts of the equation we will come up with.
We only need values for Po and k. Po is given by the amount the scientist starts with
which is 100. Finding k requires a little more work.
We know that Po is 100 and after t = 5 days the population P is 350. We can use this
information to find k.

Now that we know k, we go back to our general form of and replace Po and k. So
our equation is
P = 100e0.25055t
b. Use the equation to find out the population after 15 days.
We will substitute the value of 15 for t in P = 100e0.25055t.
P = 100e0.25055(15) = 100e3.75825 = 4287.33
or approximately 4287 bacteria after 15 days.
c. Use the equation to find out when the population is 1000.
We will set our equation equal to 1000 to get 1000 = 100e0.25055t and solve.

So between 9 and 10 days, the bacteria population will be 1000.

2. Exponential Decay
Solving an exponential decay problem is very similar to working
with population growth. In fact, certain populations may decrease instead of increase
and we could still use the general formula we used for growth. But in the case of
decrease or decay, the value of k will be negative.
Let's Practice:
iii.

The number of milligrams of a drug in a persons system after t hours is given by

the function D = 20e-0.4t.
a. Find the amount of the drug after 2 hours.

To solve the problem we let t = 2 in the original equation.

D = 20e-0.4(2) = 20e-0.8 = 8.987
After 2 hours, 8.987 milligrams of the drug are left in the system.
b. Find the amount of the drug after 5 hours.
Replace t with 5 in the equation to get
D = 20e-0.4(5) = 20e-2.0 = 2.707
After 5 hours, 2.707 milligrams remain in the body.
c. When will the amount of the drug be 0.1 milligram (or almost completely
gone from the system)?
We need to let D = 0.1 and solve the equation 0.1 = 20e-0.4t

After approximately 13 hours and 15 minutes, the amount of the drug will be almost
gone with only 0.1 milligrams remaining in the body.
3. Compound Interest
The formula for interest that is compounded is

A represents the amount of money after a certain amount of time

P represents the principle or the amount of money you start with

r represents the interest rate and is always represented as a decimal

n is the number of times interest is compounded in one year

if interest is compounded annually then n = 1

if interest is compounded quarterly then n = 4
if interest is compounded monthly then n = 12

t represents the amount of time in years

Let's Practice:

iv.

Suppose your parents invest $1000 in a savings account for college at the time
you are born. The average interestrate is 4% and is compounded quarterly. How
much money will be in the college account when you are 18 years old?

We will use our formula

v.

and let P = 1000, r = 0.04, n = 4 and t = 18.

Suppose your parents had invested that same $1000 in a money market
account that averages 8% interest compounded monthly. How much would you
have for college after 18 years?

P = 1000, r = 0.08, n = 12 and t = 18