Discussion Questions

Week 6
1. Describe the basic differences between linear growth (a linear model) and
exponential growth (an exponential model).
Linear Growth is growth that occurs by the same absolute amount each
time. So if my boss says you will receive a $500 a year raise for the next 5
years, my pay will go up that amount each year. So at the end of 5 years my
pay will be $2500 more.
Exponential growth also grows by a constant amount, but this time it is a
it is a relative amount, Percentage, not a absolute amount. So if we take the
same example but put a starting amount of say $10,000 and a growth of 5%
each year, at the end of the first year my pay will be $10,500 and at
the second year it will be $11,025, and after 5 years my pay will
be12,762.81, which is $262.81 more than linear growth.

2. Give two examples of linear relationships (they can be from the world of
business, science, sports, or other areas). Define the meaning of the slope in
these relationships.
Relationship of direct proportionality that, when plotted on a graph, traces a
straight line. In linear relationships, any given change in an independent
variable will always produce a corresponding change in the dependent
variable.
If we take the example of how fast you go is directly related to how much
gas you use. So a statement would be, “the faster you drive the more gas
you will use”. The slope will go up and be steeper in direct proportion to how
fast you drive.
A linear relationship between production hours and output in a factory
means that a 10 percent increase or decrease in hours will result in a 10
percent increase or decrease in the output. Thus the slope will be a straight
line in direct proportion to the independent and dependent variable.

3. A population of primates in a certain jungle is doubling each year.

Describe how the population increases in size as a function of time. Give
examples of some population increases over time. Is this a linear or
exponential relationship?
If we take the example of the human race, we can say that as time goes by
the population rate increases. P=f(t)
These are exponential relationships and doubling can be figured if the
percentage is less than about 15%. This is called the 70 rule.
4. Describe how a mathematical function is created. Be sure to include a
discussion of dependent and independent variables, and the two sets called
domain and range.
A function ƒ takes an input, x, and returns an output ƒ(x). A function describes
how a dependant variable changes with respect to one or more independent
variables. This can be written y=f(x). With y being the dependant variable
and x being the independent variable. So basically independent variables
are the input into a function and dependant variables are the output of a
function. So my example of gas usage would be, gas mileage is a function of
the vehicles speed.

The domain of a functionis the set of all the stuff you can plug into the
function.
Example of domain: f(x) = x^2. SO everything can be plugged into this
function.

The range of a function is all the stuff you can get out of a function.
The Range of the above example would be: is the set of all non-negative
numbers (the positive numbers plus zero).