Skip to content

Practice: growth and decay

Practice: growth and decay

1

A culture in a laboratory has 2,500 bacteria.
The number of bacteria grows by 40% every hour.

a

What is the growth factor?

    / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

    / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

    b

    How many bacteria will the culture have after 3 hours?

      / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

      / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

      2

      A patient’s blood holds 600 mg of a medicine.
      Every hour the amount in the blood shrinks by 25%.

      a

      How many mg will be in the blood after two hours?

        / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

        / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

        b

        How many mg will be in the blood after 6 hours? Round to a whole number.

          / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

          / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

          c

          Another patient was given the same medicine. An hour later 450 mg were left in his blood.
          Write an equation and solve it: how many mg was he given?

          3

          Medical scans use a radioactive substance, technetium-99m.
          Its half-life is 6 hours.
          A patient was given 40 micrograms.

          a

          How many micrograms will be left after 24 hours?

            / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

            / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

            b

            How many micrograms will be left after 9 hours? Round to one decimal place.

              / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

              / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

              4

              The number of users of hired electric scooters in a city, each year:

              Year0123
              Users1,5001,8002,1602,592
              a

              What is the growth factor?

                / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                b

                By what percentage does the number of users grow every year?

                  / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                  / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                  c

                  If the growth goes on like this, how many users will there be in year 6? Round to a whole number.

                    / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                    / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                    5

                    The graph: the amount of a radioactive substance, in grams, each week – y=800⋅0.5x\displaystyle {y}={800\cdot0.5^{x}}.

                    Mark the amount at the start, and the point where 100 grams are left.

                    y=800⋅0.5x\displaystyle y=800\cdot0.5^{x}
                    y=100\displaystyle y=100

                    6

                    Algae are spreading in two ponds.
                    In pond A the algae cover 10 m², and 6 m² are added every week.
                    In pond B the algae cover 10 m², and their area grows by 30% every week.

                    a

                    How many m² will the algae in pond A cover after 8 weeks?

                      / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                      / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                      b

                      How many m² will the algae in pond B cover after 8 weeks? Round to one decimal place.

                        / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                        / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                        c

                        In which pond will the algae spread faster from then on? Explain.

                        7

                        Coffee is poured at 85 degrees, in a room at 25 degrees.
                        Every minute the difference between the coffee and the room shrinks by 8%.

                        What is the temperature of the coffee after 10 minutes? Round to one decimal place.

                          / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power

                          / – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power