Exponential Function
Exponential Function
► Compound Interest
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Exponential Functions
Here, we study a new class of functions called exponential
functions. For example,
f (x) = 2x
f (3) = 23 = 8
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Exponential Functions
Here are some examples of exponential functions:
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Graphs of Exponential Functions
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Example 2 – Graphing Exponential Functions by Plotting Points
(a) f (x) = 3x
(b) g(x) =
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Example 2 – Solution
We calculate values of f (x) and g(x) and plot points to
sketch the graphs in Figure 1.
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Graphs of Exponential Functions
A family of exponential
functions
Figure 2
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Graphs of Exponential Functions
All of these graphs pass through the point (0, 1) because
a0 = 1 for a 0.
You can see from Figure 2 that there are two kinds of
exponential functions:
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Graphs of Exponential Functions
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Example 3 – Identifying Graphs of Exponential Functions
(a) (b)
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Example 5 – Comparing Exponential and Power Functions
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Compound Interest
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Compound Interest
Exponential functions occur in calculating compound
interest. If an amount of money P, called the principal, is
invested at an interest rate i per time period, then after one
time period the interest is Pi, and the amount A of money is
A = P + Pi = P(1 + i)
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Compound Interest
Similarly, after a third time period the amount is
A = P(1 + i)3
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Example 6 – Calculating Compound Interest
Solution:
We use the compound
interest formula with
P = $1000, r = 0.12,
and t = 3.
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Compound Interest
If an investment earns compound interest, then the annual
percentage yield (APY) is the simple interest rate that
yields the same amount at the end of one year.
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Example 7 – Calculating the Annual Percentage Yield
Solution:
After one year, a principal P will grow to the amount
A=P
= P(1.06183)
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d
A = P(1 + r)
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