General Mathematics – Grade 11

Self-Learning Module (SLM)

Quarter 1 – Module 5: Exponential Functions
First Edition, 2020

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 Lesson
Representing Real-Life Situations

1 Using Exponential Functions

Exponential functions occur in various real-world situations. Exponential

functions are used to model real-life situations such as population growth,
radioactive decay, carbon dating, growth of an epidemic, loan interest rates, and
investments.

Some things can be counted by multiplying continually. Recall the concept

of geometric sequence (or progression) studied in Grade 10 in which each term
after the first is obtained by multiplying the preceding term by a non-zero constant
called the common ratio.
Symbolically, if a is the first term and r is the common ratio, then
a, ar, ar 2 , ar 3 ,... forms a geometric sequence.
For example, bacteria reproduce by splitting, doubling the number of
bacterial cells. If there are 7 cells and a doctor is examining the bacteria, after a
certain time, there will be 14 cells…then 28… then 56, etc. The terms 7, 14, 28,
56, … can be written in factored form or exponential form as shown in the table
below:

What’s In

Term In Factored Form In Exponential Form

a1 = 7 7 7 20
a2 = 14 7 2 7  21
a3 = 28 7 2 2 7 22
a4 = 56 7 2 2 2 7 23
  

This means that if there are 7 bacteria initially and doubles after a certain
time, then there will be 7(2)
n −1
after n units of time.

In general, given the first term a1 and the common ratio is r of a geometric
n −1
sequence, then the nth term of the sequence is an = a1r .

8
 What’s New

To help you understand exponential functions, do the following activity.

Materials: One 2-meter of string, a pair of scissors

(a) At step 0, there is 1 string.

(b) At step 1, fold the string into two equal parts and then cut at the middle.
How many strings of equal length do you have? Enter your answer in the
table below.

(c) At step 2, again fold each of the strings equally and then cut. How many
strings of equal length do you have? Enter your answer in the table
below.

(d) Continue the process until the table is completely filled-up.

Step
Number of Strings
Questions:

(a) What pattern can be observed from the data?

(b) Define a formula for the number of strings as a function of the step
number.

Answers:

Step 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Number of Strings 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128

It can be observed that as the step number increases by 1, the number of

strings doubles. If n is the number of strings and s is the step number, then n( s) = 2
s

Notes to the Teacher

Folding a paper and determine the relationship between the number
of folds and the number of regions or areas formed is another good
activity that illustrates exponential function.

9
 What is It

Definition: An exponential expression is an expression of the form 𝒂 ∙ 𝒃𝒙−𝒄 + 𝒅

,where (𝒃 > 𝟎, 𝒃 ≠ 𝟏).

The definitions of exponential equations, inequalities and functions are shown below.

Exponential Exponential Exponential Function

Equation Inequality
Definition An equation involving An inequality Function of the form
exponential involving exponential 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑏 𝑥 (𝒃 > 0, 𝑏 ≠ 1).
expressions expressions

Example 2 1 52𝑥 − 5𝑥+1 ≤ 0 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = (1 ⋅ 8)𝑥 or

72𝑥−𝑥 =
343 𝑦 = (1 ⋅ 8) 𝑥

An exponential equation or inequality can be solved for all 𝑥 values that satisfy
the equation or inequality. An exponential function expresses a relationship between
two variables (such as 𝑥and 𝑦), and can be represented by a table of values or a
graph.

Solved Examples
Determine whether the given is an exponential function, an exponential equation,
an exponential inequality, or none of these.

1. 𝑓(𝑥) = 5𝑥 2 (Answer: None of these)

1 𝑥
2. 2 ≥ ( ) (Answer: Exponential Inequality)
2

3. 74𝑥 = 𝑦 (Answer: Exponential Function)

4. 4(100𝑥−2 ) = 500 (Answer: Exponential Equation)
5. 7 < 49𝑥+3 (Answer: Exponential Inequality)
6. 𝑦 = 0.5𝑥 (Answer: Exponential Function)

10
 Definition

An exponential function with the base b is a function of the form f ( x) = b x or

y = b x where b  0 , b  1 .

The base 𝑏 is restricted to positive real numbers to ensure that f (x) is always
a real number. Also, base 𝑏 cannot be equal to 1, for if 𝑏 = 1 , then 𝑓(𝑥) = 1, and it
will be a constant function.

Example 1. Complete a table of values for x = −3, − 2, − 1, 0, 1, 2 and 3 for the

x
1
exponential functions y =   , y = 10 , and y = (0.8) .
x x

 3
Solution:

x −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
x
1 1 1 1
y =  27 9 3 1
 3 3 9 27
1 1 1
y = 10 x 1 10 100 1000
1000 100 10
y = (0.8)
x
1.953125 1.5625 1.25 1 0.8 0.64 0.512

1
Example 2. If f ( x) = 3 , evaluate f (2), f (−2), f  , f (0.4 ) and f ( ) .
x

2
Solution:

f (2) = 32 = 9

1 1
f (−2) = 3−2 = =
32 9

1
1
f   = 32 = 3
2
2
f (0.4) = 3 0.4
= 3 = 5 32 = 5 9
5

Since   3.14159 is irrational, the rules for rational exponents are not
applicable. We define 3 using rational numbers: f ( ) = 3 can be approximated by
 

33.14 . A better approximation is 33.14159 . Intuitively, one can obtain any level of

accuracy for 3 by considering sufficiently more decimal places of  .
Mathematically, it can be proved that these approximations approach a unique

value, which we define to be 3 .

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 Definition

Let b be a positive number not equal to 1. A transformation of an exponential

function with base b is a function of the form

f ( x) = a  b x −c + d .

where a , c and d are real numbers.

There are many real-life situations that can be represented using exponential
functions and their transformations. Some of them are population growth,
exponential decay, and compound interest.

Population Growth
On several instances, scientists will start with a certain number of bacteria or
animals and watch how the population grows. For example, if the population doubles
every 3 days, then this can be represented as an exponential function.

Example 3. Let t = time in hours . At t = 0 , there were initially 20 bacteria. Suppose

that the bacteria double every 100 hours. Give an exponential model for the
bacteria as a function of t .

Solution:

Initially, At t = 0, Number of bacteria = 20

At t = 100, Number of bacteria = 20  2
At t = 200, Number of bacteria = 20  22
At t = 400, Number of bacteria = 20  23

An exponential model for this situation is y = 20(2)100 .

t

Exponential Model for Population Growth

Suppose a quantity y doubles every T units of time. If y0 is the initial amount,

then the quantity y after t units of time is given by

y = y0 (2)
t /T
.

12
Radioactive Decay
The disintegration of substances is another situation that shows exponential
change. Each hour, a fraction of the atoms of a radioactive substance randomly
changes into different atoms, i.e. they decay.

Definition
The half-life of a substance is the time it takes for half of the substance to decay.

Example 4. Suppose that the half-life of a certain radioactive substance is 10 days

and there are 10 g initially. (a) Determine the amount of substance remaining after
30 days, and (b) give an exponential model for the amount of remaining substance.

Solution: We use the fact that the mass is halved every 10 days (from the definition
of half-life). Let t = time in days . Thus, we have

Initially, At t = 0, Amount of substance = 10 g

1
At t = 10, Amount of substance = 10  = 5 g
2
2
1
At t = 20, Amount of substance = 10  = 2.5 g
2
3
1
At t = 30, Amount of substance = 10  = 1.25 g
2
(a) The amount of substance remaining after 30 days is 1.25 g .
t
 1 10
(b) An exponential model for this situation is y = 10  .
2

Exponential Model for Radioactive Decay

If the half-life of a substance is T units, and y0 is the amount of the substance

corresponding to t = 0 , then the amount y of substance remaining after t units of

time is given by
t
 1 T
y = y0  
2

13
Compounded Interest
A starting amount of money (called the principal) can be invested at a certain
interest rate that is earned at the end of a given period of time (such as one year). If
the interest rate is compounded, the interest earned at the end of the period is added
to the principal, and this new amount will earn interest in the next period. The same
process is repeated for each succeeding period: interest previously earned will also
earn interest in the next period.

Example 5. Mrs. Dela Cruz invested Php 100,000.00 in a company that offers 6%
interest compounded annually. Define an exponential model for this situation. How
much will this investment be worth at the end of each year for the next five years?

Solution: Let t be the time in years. Then we have:

Initially, At t = 0, Amount of investment = 100,000
At t = 1, Amount of investment = 100,000 + 100,000(0. 06)
= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 )
= Php 106,000
At t = 2, Amount of investment = 100,000 (1 + 0.06)
= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 ) + 100,000 (1 + 0.06 )(0.06 )
= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 )(1 + 0.06 )
= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 )
2

= Php 112,360
At t = 3, Amount of investment = 100,000 (1 + 0.06) 2
= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 ) + 100,000 (1 + 0.06 ) (0.06 )
2 2

= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 ) (1 + 0.06 )

2

= 100,000 (1 + 0.06 )
3

= Php 119,101.60
Following the pattern, we can simply solve a certain amount of
investment at t period of time.

At t = 4, Amount of investment = 100,000 (1 + 0.06) 4

 Php 126,247.70
At t = 5, Amount of investment = 100,000 (1 + 0.06) 5
 Php 133,822.56

An exponential model for this situation is A = 100,000(1 + 0.06 ) or simply

t

A = 100,000(1.06) .
t

14
 Exponential Model for Compounded Interest

If a principal P is invested at an annual rate of r , compounded annually, then the

amount after t years is given by

A = P(1 + r ) .
t

Example 6. Referring to Example 5, is it possible for Mrs. Dela Cruz to double her
money in 8 years? 10 years?

Solution: Using the exponential model A = 100,000(1.06 ) , we substitute t = 8 and

t

t = 10 :
If t = 8 , A = 100,000(1.06 )  Php 159,384.81 .
8

If t = 10 , A = 100,000(1.06)  Php 179,084.77

10

Since Mrs. Dela Cruz money still has NOT reached Php 200,000 after 10 years, then
she has not doubled her money during this time.

The Natural Exponential Function

Some situations can be modeled using the exponential function with base e ,
an irrational number whose value is approximately 2.71828. At this point, we will
just rely on the scientific calculator to obtain further decimal expansion of e .

Definition

The natural exponential function is a function defined by

f ( x) = e x
for all x real numbers.

Example 7. A radioactive substance is decaying according to the function

y = 500e −0.02t , where y milligram is the amount present in t years from now. How
much will be left after 10 years?

Solution: Substitute t = 10 to the given function. Using a scientific calculator, we

−0.2
have y = 500e  409 .

15
 What’s More

Activity 1 Exponential Function Defined

Determine whether the given is an exponential function, an exponential equation,
an exponential inequality, or none of these.

1. 49𝑥 = 72

2. 3 < 9𝑥
3. 𝑦 = 81𝑥

4. 3(15𝑥) = 45

5. 3 ≥ 9𝑥−1

6. 𝑦 = 1.25𝑥

Activity 2 Evaluation of Exponential Function

Given the exponential functions, complete the table of values for x = −2, − 1, 0, 1, 2

x −2 −1 0 1 2
y = 0.1 x

y = 3x
x
2
y= 
5

Activity 3 Exponential Models

Give the exponential model for the following situations:
1. At time t = 0 , 500 bacteria are in a petri dish, and this amount triples every
15 days.
2. The half-life of a substance is 400 years. Initially, there are 100 g of
substance.
3. Suppose that a couple invested Php 50,000 in an account when their child
was born, to prepare for the child’s college education. The average interest
rate is 4.4 % compounded annually.

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