Module I: Exponential Growth and Decay

Instructor’s Guide

Module I: Learning Goals & Objectives

Goal: Students will understand exponential growth and exponential decay for a system

Objectives: Students will be able to

* Characterize exponential growth using

the doubling time or rate of growth

* Characterize exponential decay using

the half-life or rate of decay

Module Outline

• Homework Assignment:

Exponential Growth Tutorial

• Classroom Follow-up– Small group discussion– Summary of Key Concepts– Personal Response System (PRS) Questions– Final Facts

Homework Assignment

Exponential Growth Tutorial

Link Here

Key Concepts(After small group discussion)

• Doubling Time for Exponential Growth

• Half-life for Exponential Decay

• Doubling time for US and World Populations

Key Concepts

• Historical Graph of World Population

• Graph of World Population Predictions

Possible PRS Question 1

• There are 2000 bacteria in a petri dish. If the bacteria have a doubling time of 3 hours, how many will there be in the petri dish after 6 hours?

Possible PRS Question 2

• World oil consumption is currently growing at a rate of 2% per year. How long will it take for world oil consumption to be twice what it is today if this rate remains constant?

Final Facts

• 2004 US Population = 300 million

• 2004 World Population = 6400 million

• US Population is 4.7% of World’s

• Doubling time about 50 years

Correlation with

Ohio Academic Content Standards

Math Benchmarks

• 8-10 Patterns, Functions and Algebra - Generalize and explain patterns and sequences in order to find the next term and the nth term

• 8-10 Data Analysis and Probability - Construct convincing arguments based on analysis of data and interpretation of graphs

Correlation with

Ohio Academic Content Standards

Science Benchmarks

• 6-8 Scientific Inquiry - Apply appropriate math skills to interpret quantitative data

• 9-10 Scientific Inquiry - Use mathematical models to predict and analyze natural phenomenon.

Related

Ohio Academic Content Standards

3-5 Science Benchmarks• Explain the characteristics, cycles, and patterns

involving Earth. (Earth & Space Science)• Compare the characteristics of simple physical and

chemical changes. (Physical Sciences)• Organize and evaluate observations, measurements,

and other data to formulate inferences and conclusions. (Scientific Inquiry)

• Use results and data from investigations to provide the evidence to support explanations and conclusions.(Scientific Inquiry)

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to all