Exercise 72 Page 478

We want to identify the behavior and the growth or decay factor of the given exponential function. Let's first recall the general form of an exponential function. y= a * b^xHere, a is the initial value and b is the base.

• When a > 0 and b > 1 the function models exponential growth. The base b represents the growth factor.
• When a > 0 and b < 1 the function models exponential decay. The base b represents the decay factor.

Let's now consider the given function. y= 5.2 * 3^x We see that a= 5.2 and b=3. Since the base is greater than 1, the function represents exponential growth and its growth factor is 3.