Exponential and logarithm applications

Problem 1: The population P of a city increases according to the formula P = 5000 e a t where t is in years and t = 0 corresponds to 1980. In 1990, the population was 10000. Find the value of the constant a and approximate your answer to 3 decimal places. Problem 2: The populations P1 and P2 of two cities are given by the formulae P1 = 10000 e k t P2 = 20000 e 0.01 t

A(t) = A o e -k t where A o is the initial amount, k is a positive constant and t is the time in days. Find a formula for the half life of the material. Problem 7: A logistic equation has the form y = a / [1 + b e -k t] where a, b and k are constants. Solve the above equation for t. Problem 8: The voltage V(t) across an electrical component is given by V(t) = V o e -a t where a is a positive constant depending on the values of the electronic components included in the electrical circuit and V o is the initial voltage. Find t for which V(t) is equal to 50% of V o. Problem 9: The signal ratio in decibels of an electronic system is given by the formula 10 Log (P o / Pi) where P o is the output power and Pi is the input power of the system. Find the input power Pi if the output power is equal to 10 mw and the signal ratio in decibels is equal to 10 decibels. Problem 10: The current i flowing in an RL circuit is given by i = (E/R)[1 - e -Rt/L]

where k is a constant and t is the time in years with t = 0 corresponding to the year 2000. Find constant k so that the two populations are equal in the year 2020 and approximate your answer to 3 decimal places. Problem 3: The level of sound D in decibels is defined as folows D = 10 log( I / 10 -16 ) where I is the sound intensity in watts per centimeters squared. Determine the level in decibels of a sound with intensity I = 10 -8 watts/cm 2.

Problem 4: Two sounds of intensities I1 and I2 have decibel levels of 60 and 80 respectively. Use the formula for decibel level given in problem 3 to determine the ratio of the intensities I2 / I1? Problem 5: The spread of a virus through a city is modeled by the function N = 15000 / [ 1 + 100 e -0.5 t ] where N is the number of people infected by the virus after t days. How many days it takes for 2000 people of this city to be infected with the virus? (approximate your answer to 3 decimal places). Problem 6: The amount of a radioactive material decays according to the formula

where E is the voltage applied to the circuit, R is the resistance and L is the inductance. Express i in terms of E and R when t = L/R.

Solution to Problem 1: If t = 0 corresponds to 1980 then 1990 corresponds to t = 10. We can say that when t = 10

the population was 10000 and this gives the following equation: 5000 e 10 a = 10000 Divide both sides of the equation by 5000 and simplify e 10 a = 10000 / 5000 e 10 a = 2 Using ln, the above exponential form can be written as 10 a = ln 2 Solve the above equation for a and approximate the answer to 3 decimal places. a = ln 2 / 10 = 0.069 (approximated to 3 decimal places). Solution to Problem 2: If t = 0 corresponds to the year 2000 then t = 20 corresponds to the year 2020. We need to find k so that the two populations are equal (P1 = P2) when t = 20. 10000 e 20 k = 20000 e 20 * 0.01 Divide both sides of the equation by 2000 e 20 k and simplify 10000 / 20000 = e 20 * 0.01 / e 20 k 1 / 2 = e 0.2 - 20 k The above exponential form may be converted in logarithmic form as follows 0.2 - 20 k = ln (1/2) Solve for k k = [0.2 - ln (1/2)] / 20 = 0.045 (approximated to 3 decimal places).

Example 2: If $1000 is put into an account for 6 years, it yields $1822.12. What is the yearly compound interest rate of the account? A = Pe rt 1822.12 = 1000e r(6) 1.82212 = e 6r ln 1.82212 = ln e 6r 0.6 = 6r r = 0.1 The interest rate of the account is 10%.

Problem : If $800 is put into a bank account that yields 7.16% interest, compounded yearly, about how much money is in the account after 6 years? $1229.31.

Problem : $800 is put into a bank account. After 5 years, there is $1006.88 in the account. What is the yearly compound interest rate of the account? 4.6%. Problem : An account yields $1400 after 10 years at 6.0% interest, compounded yearly. How much money was put into the account to start? $768.34 Problem : $1000 is put into an account that yields 15% interest, compounded yearly. The account yields $17287.78. For how many years is it left in the account? 19 years.

Example 1: If $600 is put into an account which yields a yearly compound interest rate of 8.6%, how much money is in the account at the end of 4 years? A = Pe rt = 600e (0.086)(4) = 600e 0.344 600(1.411) = $846.35 The account has $846.35 at the end of 4 years.