Accelerated Geometry/ Algebra 2

U8 Worksheet F - Exponential & Logarithmic Applications Day 1

Logarithmic Equations you will need:
• pH: 𝑝𝐻 = −log [𝐻 + ]
𝐼
• Magnitude of Earthquake: 𝑀 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑆; where I = intensity, S = 1 (standard earthquake)
𝐼
• Comparing Earthquake Magnitude: 𝑀1 − 𝑀2 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐼1
2
𝐼
• Sound Intensity: 𝑑𝐵 = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐼 ; where 𝐼 = intensity, 𝐼0 = 10−12 W/m2
0

SHOW EXACT AND APPROXIMATE ANSWERS. ROUND APPROXIMATE ANSWERS TO THE NEAREST TEN-
THOUSANDTH.

1) Determine the pH of blood if the hydrogen ion concentration of human blood was measured to be [H+] = 3.16 x
10-8 M.

2) The most acidic rainfall ever measured occurred in Scotland in 1974; its pH was 2.4. Find the hydrogen ion
concentration.

3) The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco had an estimated magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale. In the same
year a powerful earthquake occurred on the Columbia-Ecuador border and was four times as intense. What was
the magnitude of the Columbia-Ecuador earthquake on the Richter scale?
4) In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake that shook San Francisco had a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale. How
many times more intense was the 1906 earthquake (8.3 on the Richter scale) than the 1989 event?

5) Determine the decibel intensity level of a jet engine during takeoff if the intensity was measured at
100 W/m2.

6) The intensity of the sound of a subway train was measured at 98 dB. Find the intensity in W/m2.

7) Disregarding the force of gravity, the maximum velocity v of a rocket is given by v = t ln M where t is the velocity
of the exhaust and M is the ratio of the mass of the rocket with fuel to its mass without fuel. A solid propellant
rocket has an exhaust velocity of 2.3 kilometers per second. Its maximum velocity is 7.2 kilometers per second. Find
its mass ratio M.
 8) The hydrogen ion concentration of fresh egg whites was measured as [ H + ] = 1.3 10−8 M . Find the pH.
𝑝ℎ = − log[𝐻 + ]

9) The pH of lime juice is 1.9. Find the hydrogen ion concentration.

10) Suppose that you test apple juice and find that the hydrogen ion concentration is [ H + ] = 0.0003 . You also test
some ammonia and determine that the pH of ammonia is greater than that of apple juice by 5.363. Determine
the hydrogen ion concentration of ammonia.

Earthquake magnitude:

11) If one earthquake is 20 times as intense as another, how much larger is its magnitude on the Richter scale?

12) The Northridge, California, earthquake of 1994 had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale. A year later, a 7.2-
magnitude earthquake struck Kobe, Japan. How many times more intense was the Kobe earthquake than the
Northridge earthquake?
 13) The 1985 Mexico City earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale. The 1976 earthquake in
Tangshan, China, was 1.26 times as intense. What was the magnitude of the Tangshan earthquake?

𝐼
Sound Intensity: 𝑑𝐵 = 10 log 𝐼 , where 𝐼0 = 10−12 𝑊/𝑚2
0

14) The intensity of the sound of traffic at a busy intersection was measured at 2.0 10−5 W/m2. Find the intensity
level in decibels.

15) Suppose you whisper at 20 decibels and normally speak at 60 decibels. How much more intense is your normal
speech than your whisper? (In other words, what is the ratio of the sound intensity of normal speech to a whisper?)

16) The noise from a power mower was measured at 106 dB. The noise level at a rock concert was measured at a
sound intensity that is 25 times greater than the power mower. What is the decibel level of the rock concert?
Exponential Equations you will need:
• Continuously Compounded Interest & Half-Life: 𝐴 = 𝑃𝑒 𝑟𝑡
𝑟 𝑛𝑡
• Compound Interest: 𝐴 = 𝑃 (1 + 𝑛) ; A= final amount after compounding, P= principal aka starting amount,
r= interest rate (make sure to convert % to decimal); n= number of times compounded per year, t= time in years
• Population Growth: 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑒 𝑟𝑡 ; 𝑎 =intial amount, 𝑟 =growth rate as a decimal, 𝑡 =time in years, 𝑦 =resulting
population. If 𝑟 > 0, population is growing. If 𝑟 < 0, population is shrinking.

SHOW EXACT AND APPROXIMATE ANSWERS. ROUND APPROXIMATE ANSWERS TO THE NEAREST TEN-
THOUSANDTH.

1) How much money is available after 5 years from an initial investment of $10,000 invested at a rate of 6%
compounded

a) annually

b) monthly

c) What would “n” be if compounding was daily? _______ semiannually? _______ quarterly? _______

2) Determine the principal that must be invested at a rate of 8% compounded monthly so that $80,000 will be
available for college tuition in 18 years.

3) How long would it take for an initial investment of $20,000 to reach $100,000 if the interest rate was 12.5%
compounded quarterly.

4) How much money is available after 5 years from an initial investment of $1000 invested at a rate of 6%
compounded continuously?
 5) Determine the time necessary for $250 to double if invested at a rate of 4.5 % compounded continuously.

6) Thorium is also used to coat tungsten filaments used in electronic devices, such as television sets. The mass m(t)
remaining after t days from a 40-g sample of thorium-234 is given by 𝑚(𝑡) = 40𝑒 −0.277𝑡 .

(a) How much of the sample will remain after 60 days?

(b) After how long will only 10 g of the sample remain?

(c) Find the half-life of thorium-234. (Hint: How long does it take for the original sample to reach half its
size?)

7) Cesium 137 is used in medical radiation therapy devices for treating cancer; in industrial gauges that detect the
flow of liquid through pipes; and in other industrial devices to measure the thickness of materials, such as paper,
photographic film, or sheets of metal. The half-life of cesium-137 is 30 years.
(a) Find the rate of decay.

(a) If we start with a sample of 10 grams, how much of the sample remains after 80 years?

(b) After how long will only 2 grams of the sample remain?

8) A certain type of tea cools according to the formula: 𝑇(𝑡) = 5 + 95𝑒 −0.054𝑡 where t is measured in minutes and T is
measured in degrees Fahrenheit.

a) What is the initial temperature of the tea?

b) What is the temperature after 4 minutes?

c) How long will it take for the temperature to be 70 degrees?

Population Growth:

9) The world's population is currently doubling every 79 years. This can be modeled by the equation, P=P0et/k,
where P is the population after t years, and P0 is the initial population. If this trend continues, what will the
population be in 2100, if the current population (2020) is 7 billion?

10) he population P of a certain town can be determined by the equation: P = 10,057e0.013t where t = 0
represents the year 2006. According to this equation, when will the population reach 18,000?

11) The population, P, of a certain city can be predicted using the equation P = 305,679e0.025t where t = 0
represents the year 2003. According to this equation, when will the population reach 350,000?

𝑡
12) The population, P, of a bacteria culture can be predicted using the equation 𝑃 = 24 ∙ 2100 , where t is the time
in minutes.
(a) How much bacteria are initially in the culture?

(b) How long will it take for the colony to triple in size?

12) An infectious strain of bacteria increases in number at a relative growth rate of 200% per hour. This can be modeled
2𝑡
by the equation 𝑃 = 𝑃0 ∙ 𝑒 where P is the population after t hours and P0 is the initial population. When a critical
number of bacteria are present in the bloodstream, a person becomes ill.

If a single bacterium infects a person, the critical level is reached in 24 hours. What is this level?
Cooling Soup

15) A hot bowl of soup is served at a dinner party. It starts to cool according to Newton’s Law of Cooling so that its
temperature at time t is given by 𝑇(𝑡) = 65 + 145𝑒 −0.05𝑡 where t is measured in minutes and T is measured in oF.

(a) What is the initial temperature of the soup?

(b) What is the temperature after 10 minutes?

(c)After how long will the temperature be 100oF?

Finance Questions:

16) How much time would it take for an initial investment of $3500 to double if invested in an account with a continuous
interest rate of 6.75%?

17) How much time would it take for an initial investment of $750 to triple if invested in an account with a continuous
interest rate of 5.5%?

18) How much time would it take for an initial investment of $230 to quadruple if invested in an account that earned
13% interest compounded monthly?

19) How much time would it take for an initial investment of $475 to reach $3000 if it was invested in an account that
earned 9.2% interest compounded monthly?

Economics:

20) The demand equation for a certain product is 𝑝 = 600 − 0.7𝑒 0.008𝑥 where p is the price and x is the demand.
Find the demand, x, when the price of the product is

a) p = $400 b) p = $350