Math

QuestionA zoo has a newborn elephant weighing 200 pounds. Its weight increases by half the previous month's weight. Which equation helps find tt for 675 pounds, and what is tt? Options: 200(32)t=675200\left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^{t}=675; Solutions: 2, 3, 4, or 6 months?

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

Assumptions1. The initial weight of the elephant is200 pounds. . The weight of the elephant increases exponentially each month by half the previous month's weight.
3. We are looking for the time it will take for the elephant to weigh675 pounds.

STEP 2

We need to set up an equation that models the weight of the elephant over time. The general form of an exponential equation isy=abty = ab^twhere- yy is the final amount- aa is the initial amount- bb is the growth factor- tt is the time

STEP 3

In this case, the initial amount aa is the initial weight of the elephant, which is200 pounds. The final amount yy is the final weight of the elephant, which is675 pounds. The growth factor bb is1.5 (since the weight increases by half the previous month's weight, the growth factor is1 +0.5 =1.5). We are looking for the time tt.
So, the equation we need to solve is675=200×1.5t675 =200 \times1.5^t

STEP 4

Now we need to solve this equation for tt. First, divide both sides of the equation by200 to isolate the exponential term675200=1.t\frac{675}{200} =1.^t

STEP 5

Take the natural logarithm (ln) of both sides to remove the exponential termln(675200)=ln(1.5t)\ln\left(\frac{675}{200}\right) = \ln\left(1.5^t\right)

STEP 6

Use the property of logarithms that ln(ab)=bln(a)\ln(a^b) = b \ln(a) to bring the tt down in front of the logarithmln(675200)=tln(1.5)\ln\left(\frac{675}{200}\right) = t \ln(1.5)

STEP 7

Finally, divide both sides by ln(1.5)\ln(1.5) to solve for ttt=ln(675200)ln(1.5)t = \frac{\ln\left(\frac{675}{200}\right)}{\ln(1.5)}

STEP 8

Calculate the value of ttt=ln(675200)ln(1.5)4.47t = \frac{\ln\left(\frac{675}{200}\right)}{\ln(1.5)} \approx4.47Since the time must be an integer (as we can't have a fraction of a month), we round up to the nearest whole number, which gives us5 months.
So, the correct equation from the table is 200(32)t=675200\left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^{t}=675 and the correct solution from the table is5 months (which is not listed in the table).

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