Pre Class: Exponentials - Part 1

What is an exponential function? What does it mean for something to be "exponential"? To get an idea of this, let's look at a few problems which we will revisit during "In Class" time.

This first problem may look familiar as it was a problem from the Percentages Material.

1. An athlete signs a contract saying that they will earn $8.3 million with an increase of 4.8% each year of the 5 year contract.

Use this scenario to fill in the following table:

Year of Contract:	Athlete's Salary	Calculate the next year's salary using the previous year's salary
1	$8.3 mill	N/A
2
3
4
5

I do not have any additional information to provide regarding this question.

You may have calculated the salaries for each year by first finding 4.8% of the previous year's salary, and then adding that value to the previous year's salary. Doing it this way, you have to type two calculations into a calculator (calculate 4.8%, then record that value, then enter the addition of that value to the salary). If you did it this way, think about how to write (and do) the computation with just one calculation entry into a calculator.

1. Some CDs (a banking investment option) are offering rates that give about 3.10% yield per year as long as a minimum amount, such as $5,000, is invested.

"3.10% yield" simply means the investment increases (earns) about 3.10%. CDs are only given for a certain amount of time (usually a certain number of years).When a CD "matures" (ends), you usually have the option to renew the CD.

Suppose you invest the minimum amount of $5,000 in order to get this 3.10% yield on a 3-year long CD.

Use this scenario to fill in the following table:

After Year:	Value of investment	Calculate the value at the end of the next year using the previous year's value
N/A	$5,000	N/A
1
2
3

I was not given any other table or graphs for this question.