Carbon Dating

The current amount of radioactive Carbon-14 present in the remains of animal bones can be measured,
and the ratio of the current amount of Carbon-14 to its initial amount can be used to determine age.

The last ratio is described by the function , where t is time (in years)
How old is an animal bone that has lost 40% of its initial Carbon-14?

Solution
Since 40% of Carbon-14 is lost, 60% is remained, or
0.6 of its initial amount.
Thus, you should solve an equation C(t)=0.6, which

is , for unknown t.
Take logarithm base 10 from both sides. You get an
equation

.
Apply the Power Rule to the logarithm. You get an
equation

Figure 4. Graph of the function

.
Therefore,

(approximately 4200 years)

Interest Compounded Annually

Suppose that $10,000 is invested at 6% interest compounded annually.

In t years an investment will grow to the amount expressed by the function

, where t is time (in years). (See the plot in Figure 1).

How long will it take to accumulate $20,000 in the account?

Solution
You should solve an equation S(t)=20000,

which is , for
unknown t.
Divide both side of this equation by the initial
amount of 10000. You get an equation

.
Take logarithm base 10 from both sides. You
get an equation

.
Apply the Power Rule to the logarithm. You get
an equation

Figure 1. Graph of the function

.
Therefore,

(approximately 12 years).
Population Growth

An initial number of bacteria presented in a culture is 10000. This number doubles every 30 minutes.
1) Write a function expressed the number of bacteria in time.
2) How long it will take to get the bacteria number 100000?

Solution
1) The function expressing the bacteria
growth is

, where is an initial
number of bacteria in the culture, t is time in

minutes. The plot for the ratio is shown

in Figure 2.
2) To estimate the time for bacteria to get
the number 100000 in the culture,
you should solve an equation

for unknown t.
Divide both sides by N(0), the initial number
of bacteria.
Figure 2. Graph of the function

You get an equation .

Take logarithm base 10 from both sides. You
get an equation

.
Apply the Power Rule to the logarithm. You
get an equation

.
Therefore,
(approximately 100 minutes).