On the first day of spring, an entire field of flowering trees blossoms. The population of locusts consuming these flowers rapidly increases as the trees blossom. The locust population gains 87% of its size every 2.4 days, and can be modeled by a function, L, which depends on the amount of time, t (in days).Before the first day of spring, there were 1100 locusts in the population.Write a function that models the locust population t days since the first day of spring.L(t)=
Q. On the first day of spring, an entire field of flowering trees blossoms. The population of locusts consuming these flowers rapidly increases as the trees blossom. The locust population gains 87% of its size every 2.4 days, and can be modeled by a function, L, which depends on the amount of time, t (in days).Before the first day of spring, there were 1100 locusts in the population.Write a function that models the locust population t days since the first day of spring.L(t)=
Identify values: Identify the initial value a and the growth rate r. The initial value, a, is the starting population of locusts, which is 1100. The growth rate, r, is 87\%, which can be expressed as a decimal 0.87.
Determine growth factor: Determine the growth factor b. Since the population increases by 87%, the growth factor b is 1 plus the growth rate. b=1+rb=1+0.87b=1.87
Determine time period: Determine the time period for the growth rate.The problem states that the population gains 87% every 2.4 days. Therefore, the growth factor applies every 2.4 days.
Write exponential function: Write the exponential function.The exponential function for growth is L(t)=a(b)(t/k), where k is the time period for each growth cycle.In this case, k=2.4 days.So, the function becomes L(t)=1100(1.87)(t/2.4).
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