Math Analysis Logarithms Packet:

Word Problems ANSWER KEY

1) The local government projects that the town will grow at a constant rate of thirty-seven
percent per year. At this rate, how many years will it take the towns population to be six
times its current size?
Use the exponential growth formula.

A Prt
6P P 1.37

6 1.37t
t log1.37 6
log6
t
5.7 years
log1.37

The future amount, A, will be 6 times the starting

amount, P. Also, 37% growth means the
multiplier is 137% or 1.37.
Divide both sides by P.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula to solve.

2) The local government projects that the town will grow at a constant rate of four percent per
year. At this rate, how many years will it take the towns population to double?

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

2P P 1.04

2 1.04t
t log1.04 2
log2
t
17.7 years
log1.04

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

The future amount, A, will be 2 times the starting

amount, P. Also, 4% growth means the multiplier
is 104% or 1.04.
Divide both sides by P.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula to solve.

page 1 of 7

3) Albert invested $4,100 in a corporate bond that pays 15% interest compounded monthly.
How long will it take Alberts investment to triple?

A P1
n

nt

Use the compound interest formula.

12t

.15
3 4100 4100 1

12

3 1.012512t
12t log1.0125 3
log3
12t
log1.0125

The future amount, A, will be 3 times the

starting amount of $4,100. n is 12 because
monthly means 12 times per year.
Divide both sides by 4100.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula.
Divide both sides by 12.

log3
log1.0125
7.4 years
t
12
4) Amy bought a diamond ring for $7,000. If the value of the ring increases at a constant rate
of 3.89% per year, how much will the ring be worth in 27 years?

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

A 7000 1.0389 $19,615.04

27

Substitute in the known values and

simplify.

5) Michael borrowed $320 from Jill 5 months ago. Today, Michael paid Jill back $346.67.
What is the simple annual interest rate that Michael paid?

I prt
5
26.67 320r
12
133.3r 26.67
r 20.00%

Use the simple interest formula.

Substitute in the known values. Notice that the interest is
$26.67 and that 5 months is converted into years.
Simplify the side of the equation with the variable.
Divide both sides by the number with r.
List the answer as a percent when dealing with rates.

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

page 2 of 7

6) Suppose $4000 principle is invested at 6% annual interest and yields $5353. For how many
years was it invested?
Use the simple interest formula.

I prt

1353 4000 0.06 t

Substitute in the known values. The interest is $1,353.

240t 1353

Simplify the side of the equation with the variable.

t 5.6 years

Divide both sides by the number with t.

7) Suppose $5000 was invested at 14% compounded annually and yielded $18,540. For how
long was it invested?

A P1
n

nt

Use the compound interest formula.

1t

.14
18540 5000 1

3.708 1.14t

t log1.14 3.708
log3.708
t
10.0 years
log1.14

Substitute in known values. n is 1

because annually means once per year.
Divide both sides by 5000.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula.

8) Greg bought a gold coin for $8,000. If the value of the ring increases at a constant rate of
2.73% per year, how many years will it be for the coin to be worth $23,495.33?

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

23495.33 8000 1.0273

2.93691625 1.0273t
t log1.0273 2.93691625
log2.93691625
t
40.0 years
log1.0273

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

Substitute in known values. 2.73% growth

means the multiplier is 102.73% or 1.00273.
Divide both sides by 8000.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula to solve.

page 3 of 7

9) Find the loudness in decibels of the background noise in a radio studio, for which the
intensity (I) is 199 times the minimum intensity, I 0 .

L 10 log

I
I0

Use the loudness formula.

199 I0
L 10 log
I0
L 10 log199 23.0 dB

Substitute in for I.
The I 0 s reduce.
Simplify.

10) Find the loudness, in decibels, of the sounds in a library, for which the intensity is 2510
times the minimum intensity, I 0 .

L 10 log

I
I0

Use the loudness formula.

2510 I0
L 10 log
I0
L 10 log2510 34.0 dB

Substitute in for I.
The I 0 s reduce.
Simplify.

11) Find the loudness, in decibels, of conversational speech, for which the intensity is 106 times
the minimum intensity, I 0 .

L 10 log

I
I0

L 10 log

10 I0
I0

Use the loudness formula.

6

L 10 log106 60 dB

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

Substitute in for I.
The I 0 s reduce.
Simplify.

page 4 of 7

12) What is the half-life of a radioactive substance that deteriorates at a rate of 9% per day?
Assume you have 50 grams to begin with.

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

1
t
50 50 0.91
2
25 50 0.91

0.5 0.91
t log 0.91 0.5
t

log0.5
7.3 days
log0.91

The half-life of a substance is the amount of time

until half of it remains. Thus, if we are starting
with 50 grams, P, then A is half of 50.
Simplify one-half times 50 and then divide both
sides by 50.
Put the equation into log form.
Use the change of base formula to solve.

13) The number of people infected by a certain flu strain is given by the equation P 2e 0.15t ,
where t is in hours.
a) Find the number of individuals infected after 2 days.

P 2e0.15t

Use the given formula.

P 2e 0.1548 2679 people

Substitute in known values and simplify. Notice

that e is the constant, not a variable, and 2 days
has been converted to hours since t is in hours.

b) How many hours will it take for 1000 people to become infected?

P 2e 0.15t
1000 2e 0.15t
500 e 0.15t

Use the given formula.

Substitute in known quantities.
Divide both sides by 2.

0.15t log e 500

Put the equation into log form.

0.15t ln500

Remember that log, base e, is equivalent to

using the natural log, ln.

ln500
41.4 hours
0.15

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

Divide both sides by 0.15 to solve for t.

page 5 of 7

14) The half-life of cesium is 45 minutes.

a) Find the rate of decay of 400 mg of cesium.

A Prt
1
400 400r 45
2
200 400r 45
0.5 r

45

r 45 0.5 .9847
Rate of Decay 1.5%

Use the exponential growth formula.

The half-life of a substance is the amount of
time until half of it remains. Thus, if we are
starting with 400 mg, P, then A is half of 400.
Simplify one-half times 400 and then divide
both sides by 400.
Take the 45th root of both sides.
The rate of decay is 100% minus r.

b) Using your rate of decay from part a, how many mg will remain after 72 minutes?

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

A 400 0.9847 131.8 mg

72

Substitute known values and simplify.

c) Using your rate of decay from part a, how long will it take for the original 400 mg to
become 40 mg?

A Prt

Use the exponential growth formula.

40 400 0.9847

Substitute in known values.

0.1 0.9847t

Divide both sides by 400.

t log 0.9847 0.1

log0.1
149.3 minutes
log0.9847
2 hours, 29 minutes, 20.5 seconds

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

Put the equation into log form.

Use the change of base formula to solve.
Not a required step, but the answer is
converted to hours, minutes, and seconds.

page 6 of 7

15) What interest rate, compounded continuously, is necessary to make $500 accumulate to
$700 in 9 years?

A Pe rt
700 500e9 r
1.4 e9 r
9r log e 1.4
9r ln1.4
r

ln1.4
.0374 3.74%
9

Math Analysis Logarithms Packet Word Problems ANSWER KEY

Use the continuously compounded interest formula.

Substitute in known quantities.
Divide both sides by 500.
Put the equation into log form.
Remember that log, base e, is equivalent to using
the natural log, ln.
Divide both sides by 9 to solve for r. Convert the
answer to a percent.

page 7 of 7