Exponential Growth
Exponential Growth
Growth Example 2
The population of a town is estimated to increase by 15% per year. The population today is 20,000. Make a graph of the population function and find out what the population will be ten years from now.
Step 1. Determine the initial value.
The initial population is 20,000.
Step 2. Determine the growth factor.
Since the population is increasing by 15% per year, it is being multiplied by 115% each day. Therefore, the growth factor is 1.15.
Step 3. Write an exponential function.
The general form of an exponential function is 
.
This function is 
.
Step 4. Use the equation to solve the problem.
