Please help I do not understand this. Identify the initial amount and the decay factor b in each function.

A. f(x) = 10 * 0.1^x

B. y = 10(3/4)^x

Question

Please help I do not understand this. Identify the initial amount and the decay factor b in each function. 

A. f(x) = 10 * 0.1^x

B. y = 10(3/4)^x

tommynaut · Answer

In growth and decay questions, the independent variable is usually t, to signify time. Assuming x is signifying time here, the initial time would be when x = 0... so that should be a big enough hint as to what the initial amount is.

The decay factor is normally the percentage the initial amount will decay over a time period. It would be 1 - BASE, where BASE is the base of the exponent (x in this case).