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| Student Learning Objectives: |
|---|
|
| | 11 Theory slides |
| | 7 Exercises - Grade E - A |
| | Each lesson is meant to take 1-2 classroom sessions |
Dominika has a meeting with her guidance counselor on Monday afternoon to discuss her college plans. She is considering where she wants to apply in a few years. Dominika knows that she wants to study in a large city, but not one that is too big. She has two cities in mind. To decide between them, she is paying close attention to their populations, which are given by two exponential functions.
Here, x is the number of years that have passed since the year 2000. Furthermore, f and g are the populations of each city in millions of people after x years. If they keep growing like this, in what year will the populations be the same? Approximate the answer to the nearest century.
An exponential equation is an equation where variable expressions occur as exponents. As with any kind of equation, there are different types of exponential equations.
| Example Equation | |
|---|---|
| With One Variable | 2^x=32 |
| With the Same Variable on Both Sides | 2^(2x)=5* 2^x |
| With the Same Base | 4^(3x)=4^(2x+3) |
| With Unlike Bases | 3^(x+4)=81^x |
| With a Rational Base | (1/2)^x=8 |
An exponential equation can be solved graphically.
An example exponential equation will be considered. 2^(x+1)=4^x There are three steps to follow to solve exponential equations graphically.
The number of solutions to the equation is the number of points of intersection of the graphs.
The x-coordinate of the point of intersection is 1. Therefore, the solution to the equation is x=1. This can be verified by substituting 1 for x in the given equation and checking whether a true statement is obtained.
Since a true statement was obtained, x=1 is a solution to the equation. Note that if the point of intersection is not a lattice point, the exact solution may not be easy to find using this method.
Dominika's first class on Mondays is economics and personal planning. She is told that a certain savings account earns 6 % annual interest compounded yearly.
Suppose that Dominika deposits $ 500 and wants to determine how many years it will take her to have $800 in this account from interest alone. To do so, she must solve the following exponential equation. 500(1.06)^x=800 Help Dominika solve this equation! Round the answer to the nearest integer.
The graphs intersect at one point, so there is only one solution to the equation.
The x-coordinate of the point of intersection appears to be 8. However, looking closely at the graph, it can be seen that the x-coordinate of this point is a bit greater than 8.
Fortunately, the answer should be rounded to the nearest integer. Therefore, the solution to the equation is x≈ 8. This solution can be checked by substituting the value into the given equation.
x ≈ 8
Since a true statement was obtained, it is confirmed that the solution to the equation is x≈ 8. This means that Dominika will have $800 in her account in about 8 years.
Dominika's second class on Mondays is math. As soon as she enters the classroom, she sees the following equation written on the board. 2(3)^x=5/3x+7/3 The teacher says that the equation has two solutions and that when solved by graphing, the first solution can be exactly determined but that the second can only be approximated. Write the exact solution for Dominika.
The graphs intersect at two points. Therefore, the equation has two solutions, which are the x-coordinates of these points of intersection.
It is seen that x=- 1 is an exact solution. Conversely, the exact value of the second solution cannot be determined from the graph. However, approximated to the nearest integer, this solution is x≈ 0. These solutions can be verified by substituting into the given equation. First, x=- 1 will be checked.
x= - 1
a^(- m)=1/a^m
a^1=a
Multiply
Add fractions
By following the same procedure, the solution x≈ 0 can be verified.
| Solution | Substitute | Simplify |
|---|---|---|
| x=- 1 | 2(3)^(- 1)? =5/3( - 1)+7/3 | 2/3=2/3 ✓ |
| x≈ 0 | 2(3)^0? ≈5/3( 0)+7/3 | cc 2≈7/3& ⇕ & ✓ 2≈ 2.333333... & |
Since true statements were obtained, x=- 1 and x≈ 0 are solutions to the equation.
Dominika has physical education right before lunch. She and her teacher are both football and soccer fans. They know that, starting from 2020, the attendance to the Major League Soccer's final game and the Super Bowl can be modeled by exponential functions. cc MLS Final Game & Super Bowl y=40 000(1.25)^x & y=120 000(0.87)^x In both cases, x is the number of years that have passed since 2020.
Dominika and her teacher want to find the year in which the attendance will be the same for both events. To do so, they need to solve an exponential equation by graphing. Help them find the year in which the attendance will be the same!
The graphs intersect at one point. Although it can be seen that the x-coordinate of the point of intersection is a bit greater than 3, its exact value cannot be determined by graphing.
Since x is the number of years that have passed since the year 2020, it can be stated that the attendance to both events will be roughly the same in 2020+3=2023.
Before discussing how to solve exponential equations algebraically, an important property must be learned.
Two powers with the same positive base b, where b≠ 1, are equal if and only if their exponents are equal.
If b>0 and b≠ 1, then b^x=b^y if and only if x=y.
It is known that b is a positive number other than 1. This implies, among other things, that b is not zero. Consequently, b^y is never equal to zero and both sides of the equation can therefore be divided by b^y. Then, the Quotient of Powers Property can be used.
If a power with base b≠ 1 is equal to one, then the exponent is zero. b^(x-y)=1 ⇒ x-y=0 The equation obtained means that x and y are equal. x-y=0 ⇔ x=y It has been shown that if b^x=b^y, then x=y. Note that if b=1, the first implication is not valid because 1 raised to any power equals 1. In such a case, x-y would not be necessarily 0. This is why b must be a number other than 1!
Suppose for a moment that b=0. Now, raise b to a negative exponent - n, where n is a natural number. b^(- n) → 0^(- n) Next, simplify the negative exponent and recall that 0^n=0 for any natural number n. 0^(- n)=1/0^n =1/0 Since division by zero is not defined, the expression 10 is not defined. This means that if b=0, then it cannot be raised to a negative exponent. However, since in this case b>0, it can be raised to any exponent x and the expression b^x will always be well defined. b^x is well defined forb>0 Now, by the Symmetric Property of Equality, write b=b. Then, use the above information to raise both sides of this equation to the power of x. Finally, use the fact that x and y are equal.
It has been shown that if x=y, then b^x=b^y. Therefore, the biconditional statement has been proven.
If b>0 and b≠ 1, then b^x=b^y if and only if x=y.
With this property in mind, a method for solving exponential equations algebraically can be explained.
Let b be a positive number other than 1 and a(x) and c(x) be two algebraic expressions in terms of the same variable. If an exponential equation is or can be written in the following form, then it can be solved algebraically by using the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations.
b^(a(x))=b^(c(x))
Consider an example exponential equation. 4^(2x)=4096 To solve the equation, four steps must be followed.
Since a true statement was obtained, x=3 is a solution to the equation. It is important to verify all the obtained solutions, since sometimes this method can lead to extraneous solutions.
Dominika decides to make good use of her free period after lunch to do some extra credit math problems.
Unfortunately, she is struggling with solving three exponential equations. Help her understand how to solve the equations algebraically to obtain the extra credit she needs!
3^(3x)=3^(x+1)
5^x=25^(2x+1)
2(2)^(x-3)=(1/8)^(13x)
The exponential expressions on both sides of the equation already have the same base. Therefore, the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations can be used.
Rewrite the expression on the right-hand side as a power with base 5. Then, use the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations.
Rewrite the expressions on both sides as single powers with base 2. Then, use the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations.
Since the exponential expressions on both sides of the equation already have the same base, the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations can be applied.
3^(3x)=3^(x+1) ⇔ 3x=x+1 Next, the obtained equation can be solved for x.
The solution will now be verified by substituting 12 for x in the given equation.
x= 1/2
a* 1/b= a/b
Rewrite 1 as 2/2
Add fractions
Calculate power
Since a true statement was obtained, x= 12 is a solution to the equation.
The right-hand side of this equation must be written as a power of 5.
Now both sides of the equation are written as powers of 5. 5^x=25^(2x+1) ⇔ 5^x=5^(4x+2) Therefore, the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations will be used. 5^x=5^(4x+2) ⇔ x=4x+2 The value of x can be found by solving the equation.
LHS-4x=RHS-4x
.LHS /(- 3).=.RHS /(- 3).
Put minus sign in front of fraction
The solution can now be checked by substituting - 23 for x in the given equation.
x= - 2/3
a(- b)=- a * b
a*b/c= a* b/c
Rewrite 1 as 3/3
Add fractions
Calculate power
A true statement was obtained. Therefore, x=- 23 is a solution to the equation.
In this equation, the expressions on both sides will be written as powers of 2. To do so, some Properties of Exponents will be used. The left-hand side will be rewritten first.
Next, the right-hand side of the equation will be rewritten as a power of 2.
Write as a power
1/a^m=a^(- m)
(a^m)^n=a^(m* n)
3 * a/3= a
(- a)b = - ab
The expressions on both sides of the equation are now written as powers of the same base. 2(2)^(x-3)=(1/8)^(13x) ⇔ 2^(x-2)=2^(- x) Therefore, the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations can be used. 2^(x-2)=2^(- x) ⇔ x-2=- x Finally, the obtained equation can be solved for x.
Now, x=1 will be checked by substitution.
x= 1
Subtract term
Identity Property of Multiplication
Calculate power
a* 1/b= a/b
a/b=.a /2./.b /2.
A true statement was obtained. Therefore, x=1 is a solution to the equation.
Solve the exponential equations graphically or algebraically. Whenever necessary, round the answers to two decimal places.
Dominika finishes her Mondays with biology class. She learns that bacteria have the ability to multiply at incredible rates. After studying two bacteria populations, she concludes that their growth can be modeled by two exponential functions.
In these formulas, the variable y is the number of bacteria in thousands x hours after the first observation. Dominika wants to know for how many hours after the first observation that population (I) will be less than population (II). To do so, she will solve the following exponential inequality. 10(1.96)^x<14(1.4)^x Help Dominika solve the inequality!
.LHS /10.<.RHS /10.
Write as a power
(a^m)^n=a^(m* n)
a*a^m=a^(1+m)
Now that both sides of the inequality are written as exponential expressions with the same base, the exponents can be compared. 1.4^(2x)<1.4^(1+x) ⇔ 2x<1+x Finally, the obtained inequality can be solved for x. 2x<1+x ⇔ x<1 It has been found that population (I) will be less than population (II) only for one hour. This can be verified by graphing each side of the inequality as an individual exponential function.
It is shown that the graph of y=10(1.96)^x is below the graph of y=14(1.4)^x for x<1, even before the first observation was made at x=0. Therefore, the solution to the inequality is, indeed, x<1.
With the topics seen in this lesson, the challenge presented at the beginning can be solved. Dominika has a meeting with her guidance counselor on Monday afternoon to discuss her college plans. Dominika wants to study in a smaller city. She knows that the populations of two cities in the US are modeled by two exponential functions.
Here, x is the number of years that have passed since the year 2000. Furthermore, f and g are the populations in millions of people after x years. If they keep growing like this, in what year will the populations be the same? Round the answer to the nearest century.
The x-coordinate of the point of intersection cannot be determined precisely on the graph. However, it does show that, to the nearest hundred years, the x-coordinate is 400. This means that the cities will have the same population around the year 2400, many years after Dominika has finished college.
Since Dominika wants to study in a smaller city, she will talk to her counselor about the city with the smaller population during the period of time when she will be in college. Based on the graph, this means she will apply to a college in City B.
After a productive school day and before going back home, Dominika stops at the school gym and plays basketball for a while.
Tadeo shows up after a while and asks Dominika to join his 3-on-3 basketball team in a local tournament. There are a total of 64 teams and half the teams are eliminated after each round. How many games do they have to win to reach the final?
The starting number of teams in the tournament is 64, and half of the teams are eliminated after each round. Let's write an exponential equation for the number of teams left y after x rounds. y=ab^x Before any games are played — or after 0 rounds — there are 64 teams playing in the tournament. This tells us that when x is 0, the value of y is 64. We can use this information to find the value of a.
Let's substitute this for the a-value in our equation. y=64b^x Recall that after each round the amount of teams remaining is cut in half. For example, after the first round, 64 ÷ 2 = 32 teams are left in the tournament. This allows us to write that when x is 1, the value of y is 642=32. Now we can find the value of b.
Let's substitute the value of b in our equation. y=64(1/2)^x Now that we have our equation, we can find which round is the final round, when there are only 2 teams left in the tournament. To do so, we will substitute 2 for y and solve for x.
Since both sides of the equation have the same base, we can use the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations to equate their exponents. (1/2)^5=(1/2)^x ⇔ x=5 Therefore, Tadeo and Dominikia's team has to win 5 rounds to reach the final of the tournament.
Dominika is watching a documentary about a new wolf sanctuary at the national park.
Scientists estimate that the population of wolves at the sanctuary will double every 10 years. The documentary provided the following function to represent the growing population of the wolves. y=18(2)^x Here, x is the number of ten-year periods that have passed since the founding of the sanctuary. How many years will it take for the population to reach 144 wolves?
The given function represents the population of wolves y in the new sanctuary after x number of 10-year periods. We want to know how long it will take for the population to reach 144 wolves. To do so, we will begin by substituting 144 for y in the given exponential equation. y=18(2)^x [0.5em] ⇓ [0.5em] 144=18(2)^x Let's rewrite the equation so that both sides have the same base. This will allow us to solve for x.
Now that both sides have the same base, we can use the Property of Equality for Exponential Equations to set the equations equal to each other. 2^3=2^x ⇔ x=3 This means that the population of wolves will reach 144 after three 10-year periods. In other words, the population will reach 144 wolves after 3* 10=30 years.