Unit Five: Exponents,

Exponential Equations, and

Exponential Functions

Assigned Work

1
 Exponent Laws

Simplify fully.

1. m3  m 4 2. 25  28 3. n12  n3

4. 520  54 5. (n )
3 2
6. ( 2n )
5 3

10m8  2m4
7. 5m  7m
2 4
8. −12n  3n 12 2
9.
4m10

10. 3m 2 n5  7 m8 n 11. ( −3m )  ( 2m )

4 2 3 5
12. ( 2m n )
5 2 3

m8  m10 m4  m2 25  28
13. 14. 15.
m2 m 27

2
 319  32 (n )  (n )
5 2 3 4

16. 17. (m ) (m )

3 2 4 5
18.
35 (n ) 2 3

(3 )  (3 )
2 5 4 8

(2 ) (2 ) 21. ( m3 ) 
2
4 3 3 2
19. 20.
4

 
(3 ) 2 4

22.
( −2m )  ( 3m )
4 3 5 2

23.
( 3n )  ( 2n )
8 2 4 5

24. 26  85
( −2 m ) 8 2
( 2n ) 5 3

86 165
25.
1282

3
 Zero and Negative Exponents

1. Simplify. Leave your answers with positive exponents.

a. m −2  m8 b. m −4  m −3 c. x −12  x 2

2x −3 8m3 n −2
d. x −3  x −5 e. f.
m −4 6m 4 n −6

−2
 x −3 
g. (x 2
y )
−3 − 4
h. (m −3
n )
−2 5
i.  −5 
x 

20m12 2 x −3 y 4
j. 12m  2m −3 −5
k. l.
−4m−3n −6 5w−2

4
 m5 n −8 2−4  2−8
( 2x y3 )
−4
m. n. −2
o.
m −2 n −2 2−5

p. −3m −5 n 2  8m8 n −5 q. ( 5m )  ( −2m )

−4 2 −4 −5
r. ( 2m n )
4 −5 −3

3−4  32 (n )  (n )
−4 −2 −3 4

s. t. (m ) (m )
−3 2 −4 −6
u.
3−8 (n ) 2 7

5
 (3 )  (3 )
2 −5 4 8
−2
v. (2 )
5 −3
(2 )
−4 2
w. x. ( n −3 ) 
4

 
(3 )
−2 −4

y.
( 2m )  ( 3m )
−4 3 −5 −2

z.
( 3n )  ( 2n )
−8 2 4 5

( 2m ) 8 2
( 4n )−5 3

6
2. Simplify and then evaluate:
3−8
( −4 )
−3
a. 5−2 b. c. d. 2 −5  2 2
3−6

−2 −3
3  −1 
e. 5−3  5−2 f. 6 −2  65 g.   h.  
4  2 

0
1
( −2 ) j. −3
0 0 0
i. k. 5 l.  
2

−1
2 1 3
( −3 )
−2
m.   n. o. p.
3 2−3 5−2

−2
2−1  3−2 
q. 3 r.  −1 
4 2 

7
 Rational Exponents

1. Evaluate each of the following. Show your work.

2 1 2
a. 32 5 b. 49 2 c. 64 3

1 3 2
d. 81 2
e. 16 4
f. 27 3

3 1 5
g. 32 5 h. 25 2 i. 16 4

1 −1 −2
j. 27 3
k. 32 5
l. 27 3

8
 −3 −3 −1
m. 16 4
n. 32 5
o. 25 2

−1 −5 −4
p. 81 4 q. 16 4 r. 8 3

−2 −3 −3
s. 64 3 t. 16 2 u. 25 2

1 −3 −5
v. 9 2
w. 9 2
x. 8 3

9
2. Simplify. Express your answer as a single power with a positive exponent.
1
 12  14   23  12   12  4
a.  x  x  b.  x  x  c.  x 
       

1 3 2
 2 4 x4 x3
d.  x 3  e. 1
f. 1
  x 2
x4

1 1
x2 x4
g. 3
h. 2
4
x x3

10
3. Simplify and then evaluate

 12   32   12  −1
a. (36 ) −2

 36 
 
b. ( 25 ) −1

 25 
 
c.  64  ( 64 )
 

 14  12 
d. 16 16  e.
92
f.
( −8 )
1 1
   9 2 ( −8 ) 3

g.
92
h.
( −8 )  13 
i. ( 8 )  8 
2
−1 −1
9 2 ( −8 ) 3  

11
  2
  −2
  −2

j. (8 )  8
2 3
 k. (8 )  8
2 3
 l. (8 )  8
−2 3

     

2  2  2  2 
1 −1 1
m. ( ) 
4 4 n. ( ) 
4 4 o. ( 42 ) 2
   

−1
42 42
p. ( 42 ) 2 q. 1 r. −1
2 2
4 4

1 −3
42 25 2
s. 2 t. −1
4
25 2

12
4. Simplify and then evaluate:

 1  3   1  −21 
a.  4 2  4 2  b.  25 2  ( 25 ) c. ( )  49 
49
      

1 1
 1  2  64 2 16 4
d.  32 5  32 5  e. f. 3
   64
16 4

1 1 1
2
27 3
32 5 25
g. −1
h. −2
i.
3 5
25
27 32

13
 −1 3
9  (9 )
1 −5 −1 −2
−1 2
25  25 8 8
2 2 3 3 2
j. −3
k. 4
l. 5
2 3 2
25 8 9

14
 Exponents: The Workout

1. Simplify. Express your answer as a single power with a positive exponent.

x −4
a. m 2  m −8 b. −9
x

42m 4
c. −15a −3  3a10 d.
−3m −11

1
e. −3m 12m  m7
4 −6
f.
(16n )(12n )
−2 −3

4 15n −6

−3
2 −5
m4
g. x  x
3 3
h. −1
m2

−8 2
−12m 5
18a 5
i. 2
j. −1
4m 5
−6 a 5

15
 −1 −3
−3
3 2
−5 x 2  8 x 4
k. n  n  n
4 5 3
l.
10 x −2

−28a 2b−5
m. n. 4m −3n9  5m −4 n −6
4a −7b3

12 x −2 y 4 15 x 7 y −11 6a 3b −7 c 0 18a −5b 2

o. p.
20 x −4 y 5 −9a −5b −1c 4

q.
(14m n )  ( −15m n )
−3 4 −2

r.
( 24 x z )  ( −35 x z )
3 −4 −7 3

−21mn−5 ( −8 x z )( −14 x z )
5 0 −5 −6

16
2. Simplify. Express your answer as a single power with a positive exponent.
−1 3 −1
−12a b 3
−25m n 4 2
a. 1 2
b. −1 1
−
3a b 3 3
−10m n 4 2

6 3
 23  5  a2  4
c.  1  d.  1  ( a 2b −1 )
x −3

 −   3
y 2 b 
 

2
 34 43 3
1

e.  2
m n  f.
(a −5 3 2
b )
 m  −3 −1
 
 
2 2
a b

17
 5 −1
−1 −1
−21m 6 n 3
2 2
g. 1 1
h. −7a b  6a b
3 2 2 3

2 6
7m n

 −31 −54 −54   −1 3


−4 1 −3 −2
 9 a b c 
  − 4 a 2 5 0
b c 
−8 x y  6 x y
j.    
3 2 4 3
i. −5 −1 1 −1 −1
24 x y 6 6
−18a 6 b 2 c 3

( ) ( )
2 −4
k. 3
8m−5 n −4  5
32m4 n5

18
3. Simplify. Express your answer as a single power with a positive exponent.
3 1 3 −1
a. 5 2  125 2 b. 6 4  36 3

2 −2 −2
−3
c. 8 5  16 5 d. 125 3  5

−1 3 3 3
e. 27 2  9 4 f. 64 5  4 4

4. Evaluate.
1
a. 32 − 16 2 b. 25 − 52 c. 3−2 + 2 −3

−4 −1
1
d. 2 −4 − 4 −2 e. 33 −   f. 120 − 4 2
2

19
5. Simplify and then evaluate.
 2  3  1
1
4

a.  8 3 16 2  42 +  
   b. 2

−3 −1
 4  2  16  2
c.      3−4 + 4 −3
9  25  d.

5
 −23 −2
 −3

e. (3
2
+ 2 ) 8
3 3
f.  4 + 27   16 4
3

 

20
6. Simplify. Express your answer with positive exponents.
3
 a −2b3  36 x −2 y 3 z −4
a.  4  b.
 c  12 xy −2 z −2

32 x −5 y 2 18 x 2 y 2 1

c.
4 xy −3
d. (8c −2
d ) ( 27c
6 3 −3
d )
9 3

 3x −2 y 3  10 x 4 y −2  x a x3a
e.  −1  −1 2  f.
 12 xy  5 x y  x −2 a

21
 m2 n m−3n mn ( m )( m )
x −1 2 x +5

g. h.
m 3− n m3 x −1

( c )( c )
a +b a −b
(x ) (x )
a 2 b 2

i. j.
c2 ( x )( x )
a +b a −b

( x )( x )
2 a −b a − 3b

k.
(x ) 3 a + b −2

22
7. Simplify and evaluate if possible.

2n  4n −1
a. 3  27 b.
2x x

8n − 2

253a +1  5a −3 81− 2 x  42 x +3
c. d.
125a 162−3 x

36a − 2b  6a +b 162 m − n  9m +3n

e. f.
2162 a −3b 27 m + n  8m −n

23
 Exponential Equations

Solve:
1. 2 x = 64 2. 52 x + 4 = 55 x −7

1
3. 52 x+ 6 = 125 4. 5 x =
25

24
5. 4 x +2
= 43 x 6. 32 x + 6 = 91− x
2

x
1 1
7. 4 =  8. 2 x +5 x
=
2
2 x+ 3

8 64

25
 5
9. 3 ( 2 ) = 48 10. 5 ( 3) =
x 2x

27

12
11. 4 ( 7 ) 12. 3 ( 5 )
x2 +3 x
= 28 =
2 x−1

100

26
 x +3 x −1 x +3 x 2 −5 x
1 1  1  1
13.   =  14.   = 
4 8  27  3

x2 + 2
1 1
= (8)
x −2
15.   16. 25x−1 =
4 125

27
17. (3 )
x−3 x 1
18. 2 x +5 x
= 64
2
=
9

19. 33 x+1 = 27 ( 9 ) 20. 22 x+ 4 − 5 = 59

x

28
 ( 2 ) ( 4 ) (8)
x+2 x −1 2 x −3
21. = 256 x 22. 5 x+1 + 50 = 175

x−2

23. (32 x+4 )( 274− x ) =  81

1


24. (5 ) = 125 ( 25 )
2 x2 + 2 x x x

29
 Introduction to Exponential Functions

1. Graph using a table of values and state the characteristics of the function.
a. y = 5 x
y

150
x y 140
-3 130

-2 120

-1
110
100
0 90
1 80
2 70

3 60
50
40
30
20

Domain: 10

Range: -4 -2 2 4 x

y-intercept:
equation of the horizontal asymptote:

x
1
b. y =  
4 y

80

x y
70
-3
-2 60

-1
0
50

1 40
2
3 30

20

Domain:
10

Range:
x
y-intercept:
-4 -2 2 4

equation of the horizontal asymptote:

30
 2. For each of the following, state whether the function is linear, quadratic, or
exponential.

a. y = 2 x − 4

b. y = 2 x 2 − 4

c. y = 5(2) x

d. y = x ( x − 3)

x
1
e. y = 2  
5

3. For each of the following, state whether the relation is linear, quadratic, or
exponential.
a. b. x y
x y 1 6
1 3 2 18
2 12
3 54
3 27
4 162
4 48
5 486
6 1458

c. d.
x y x y

2 5 1 6
4 8 2 12
6 11 3 24
8 14 4 48
5 96
6 192

31
 Graphing Exponential Functions

Graph each of the following. Make sure to show all intermediate graphs.

y = 2 ( 3) 2. y = −3 ( 2 ) − 1
x−4
1.
x

y
y
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5

– 10 –5 5 10 x
– 10 –5 5 10 x –5
520
10
15 –5 520– 20
10
15 5
10
15
5
10 5– 10
10 5 – 10
– 10
– 15
– 15
– 20
– 20

x
1
3. y = − ( 4 ) + 5
−x
4. y = 2 
 3

y y
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5

– 10 –5 5 10 x – 10 –5 5 10 x
–5 –5
– 10 – 10
– 15 – 15
– 20 – 20

32
 − x +3
1 1
6. y = ( 2 ) 2
x +3
5. y =   −5
2

y
y
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
520– 20
10
15 5
10
15 5
5– 10
10 5 520– 20
10
15 5
10
15
5– 10
10 5
– 10 –5 5 10 x
– 10 –5 5 10 x
–5
–5
– 10
– 10
– 15
– 15
– 20
– 20

7. y = ( 2 ) y = −2 ( 4 )
3 x+6 −2 x − 2
+8 8.

y y
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5

– 10 –5 5 10 x x
– 10 –5 5 10
–5
–5
– 10
– 10
– 15
– 15
– 20
– 20

33
 −x
1
9. y = 5x − 4 10. y =  +2
4

y y
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5

– 10 –5 5 10 x – 10 –5 5 10 x
–5 –5
– 10 – 10
– 15 – 15
– 20 – 20

34
 Comparing Exponential Functions

1. Consider the functions y = 9 x and y = 32 x .

a. Graph these functions using Desmos.
b. What do you notice about these functions?

c. Explain, using what you know about exponents, why this is the case.

3
x +3
2. Consider the functions y = 8 2 x+4
and y = 16 2
.
a. Graph these functions using Desmos.
b. What do you notice about these functions?

c. Explain, using what you know about exponents, why this is the case.

x
 1 
3. Consider the functions y = 5 −2 x
and y =   .
 25 
a. Graph these functions using Desmos.
b. What do you notice about these functions?

c. Explain, using what you know about exponents, why this is the case.

35
4. Consider the functions y = 81( 3) and y = 35 x + 4 .
5x

a. Graph these functions using Desmos.

b. What do you notice about these functions?

c. Explain, using what you know about exponents, why this is the case.

36
 Exponential Growth

1. A population of wolves increases at the rate shown. Determine the growth

factor.
a. 14% b. 6% c. 3.4%

d. 8.2% e. 10.5% f. 23%

2. A population has the growth factor shown. Express the rate of growth as a
percent.
a. 1.2 b. 1.05 c. 1.025

d. 1.15 e. 1.45 f. 1.35

3. The population of the city of Mathville can be modelled by the function

P = 645000 (1.014 ) where P is the population of the city and n is the number
n

of years that have passed since the year 2005.

a. What was the population of Mathville in the year 2005?

b. At what annual rate has the population of Mathville been increasing since
the year 2005?

c. What will the population of Mathville be in the year 2017 if the population
continues to grow at this rate?

37
4. Ontario’s population was approximately 10.1 million people in the year 1991.
The population has been increasing at a rate of 1.25% per year.
a. Write an equation to model Ontario’s population for n years after 1991.

b. If the population continues to grow at this rate what would the population
of Ontario be in the year 2041?

5. In 1626 Manhatten Island in New York was purchased for the equivalent of
$24. If that $24 had been invested in an account that increases the value
of the investment at a rate of 6% per year what would the investment have
been worth in the year 2012?

6. A type of bacteria doubles every hour. A petri dish contains 43 g of the at

8 am.
a. Write the exponential function that models the number of grams of
bacteria for n hours after 8 am.

b. How many grams of the bacteria would be in the dish at noon?

c. How many grams of bacteria would be in the dish at 3 pm?

38
7. A rare stamp was worth $65 in 1995. It was predicted to grow in value by
8% per year.
a. Write an exponential function that models the value of the stamp n years
after 1995.

b. What would be the value of the stamp in 2012?

c. How many years would it take the stamp to double in value? (use trial and
error to find the answer)

8. There are 800 caribou in a provincial park in the year 2006. The caribou
population has been growing at a rate of 1.2% per year.
a . Write an exponential function to model the population of caribou for n
years after 2006.

b. What would you expect the population of the caribou to be in the year 2020
if the population continues to grow at this rate?

9. The population of Mathville grows at a rate of 13% per year. There are
150 000 people living there now.
a. What will the population be in 17 years?

b. What was the population 5 years ago?

39
10. The population of a school can be modelled by the function P = 1650 (1.0125 )
n

where P is the population and n is the number of years since the school
opened.
a. What was the population of the school when it opened?

b. by what percent is the population increasing each year?

c. What will the population of the school be after 10 years?

11. The value of a house can be modelled by the function V = 142000 (1.035)
n

where V is the value of the house and n is the number of years that have passed
since the house was built.
a. By what percent is the house’s value increasing each year?

b. What was the value of the house when it was built?

c. What will the value of the house be 14 years after it was built?

40
 Exponential Decay

1. A population decreases at the rate shown. Determine the decay factor for
each.
a. 14% b. 6% c. 3.4%

d. 8.2% e. 10.5% f. 23%

2. A population has each decay factor. By what percent is the population

decreasing?
a. 0.2 b. 0.05 c. 0.025

d. 0.15 e. 0.45 f. 0.35

3. A car sells for $12 000. Each year it decreases in value by 15%.
a. Determine the decay factor.

b. Write an equation to model the value of the car x years after it was
purchased.

c. What would the value of the car be five years after it was purchased?

41
4. There are currently 1000 deer in a provincial park. The population of deer is
decreasing at a rate of 3% per year.
a. Write an equation that models the number of deer in the park after x
years.

b. How many deer would be left in the park after 5 years?

5. A can of cola has 34 mg of caffeine. Caffeine travels into your bloodstream

after it is consumed. After you drink a beverage that contains caffeine, 13%
of the caffeine in your bloodstream is removed every hour.
a. Write an equation that models the amount of caffeine that remains in your
bloodstream x hours after you drink a can of pop.

b. How much caffeine is left in your bloodstream 4 hours after you drink a
can of cola?

6. Denim jeans fade after repeated washings. Suppose that your favourite pair
of jeans loses 2% of its original colour after each wash.
a. Write the equation to model the percent of colour remaining after x
washings.

b. What percent of the colour will remain after 50 washings?

42
7. A radioactive substance has a half-life of three days. There is a 1000 g
sample of the radioactive isotope in a science laboratory.
a. Write an equation that models the amount of the radioactive isotope that
is left after x half-lives have passed.

b. How much of the radioactive isotope would be left after 15 days?

c. How much of the radioactive isotope would be left after 25 days?

8. Radium-221 is a radioactive substance with a half-life of 30 seconds. You

have a 300 g sample of the substance.
a. Write an equation to model the amount of radium-221 that would be left
after x half-lives have passed.

b. How many half lives would have elapsed after 60 seconds?

c. How many half lives would have elapsed after 5 minutes?

d. How much of the sample would be left after 120 seconds?

e. How much of the sample would be left after 4.5 minutes?

f. How much of the sample would be left after 143 seconds?

43
9. A new car decreases in value after it is purchased. The value (V, in dollars) of
a new car n years after it is purchased is modelled by the equation:
V = 20000 ( 0.84 ) .
n

a. What was the purchase price of the car?

b. By what percent is the car’s value decreasing each year?

c. Find the car’s value six years after it was purchased.

10. When light passes through ice its intensity is reduced by 4% for every 1 cm
thickness of ice that the light passes through.
a. Write an equation that models the percentage of the light’s intensity that
is left after it passes through x cm of ice.

b. What percentage of the light’s original intensity would remain after the
light has passed through a piece of ice that is 8 cm thick?

c. What percentage of the light’s original intensity would remain after the
light has passed through a piece of ice that is 12.3 cm thick?

44
11. An endangered species of bird has a population that is decreasing each year.
Biologists began studying the bird population in the year 2010 and counted the
number of birds. The population of the birds (P) can be modelled by the
function:
P = 4000 ( 0.94 )
n

where is n the number of years that have passed since the study began in 2010.
a. How many birds did they count in 2010?

b. By what percent is the population decreasing each year?

c. How many birds would you expect would be left in the year 2020 if the bird
population continues to decrease at the same rate?

12. A bacteria culture decays by 18% every 10 minutes. There were 1000 bacteria
at 4:00 pm. How many were there at :
a. 5:00 pm that same day?

b. 5:36 pm that same day?

45
 Test Review
When simplifying, remember:
• First, apply exponent laws to simplify.
• Then, get rid of any negative exponents.
• Then, get rid of any rational (fraction) exponents.

1. Evaluate each of the following. Show your work. Answers must be

expressed as reduced fractions. No decimals are allowed in any part of your
solution.
2
3
a. 2 3 b.   c. −32
4

 −1 
5

d. (−5) 2 e.   f. 5−2
 2 

−2 −3
4  −1 
( −4 )
−2
g. h.   i.  
5  2 

0
4
j. 5 0 k. (−2) 0 l.  
5

46
 m. −20 n. 7  30 o. (−8)0

2 3 3
p. 8 3 q. 16 4 r. 25 2

−5 −3 −5
s. 8 3
t. 36 2
u. 81 4

2. Simplify each of the following. Express your answers as single powers with
positive exponents.
a. m5  m 4 b. n 2  n3

c. 23  25 d. 34  38  3

e. m10  m 2 f. x 20  x 4

47
g. 415  45 h. 218  2 2

i. (x )
3 5
j. (m )
2 3

k. (2 )
3 4
l. (5 )
8 2

m. m5  m −8 n. m5  m −2

o. 2 −15  28 p. 45  4 −3

q. (2 )
−3 −2
r. (3 )
−4 2

s. (m )
3 −2
t. (x )
−4 3

48
3. Simplify each of the following. Your final answer should be in simplest form
with only positive exponents.
a. 3m 4  8m8 b. −4m 2  2m3

c. −20m12  5m 4 d. 10m8  5m3

e. ( 2m )
4 3
f. ( 3m )
5 2

g. 2m3  4m −8 h. −12m −5  3m 2

20m−2  3m−10
i. ( 5m )
−4 2
j.
15m4

(m ) (m )
2 6 5 −3

k. (m ) (m )
5 2 4 −3
l.
(m ) 2 4

49
 m.
( 2m )  ( 3m )
2 4 −3 4

( 2m ) 2 3

4. Simplify and then evaluate:

1 −5 10 13
a. 8  8
3 3
b. 25  25 2 2

−1 −6 2 5
c. 9 2 9 2 d. 8 3  8 3

5 −7
8 8
3 3
35  3
e. 2
f.
3
38
8

50
g.
(5 )  (5 )
4 6 2 −8

h.
(2 ) (2 )
5 −2 −4 2

(5 )5 2
(2 )  (2 )
3 2 −5 4

4 10
3 3
( −2 )  ( −2 )
−2 5
   
j.   2  14
4 4
i.
( −2 )  ( −2 )
2 4
3 3
   
4 4

51
5. Simplify. Leave your answer fully simplified with only positive exponents.
a. 25  8−3 165

( ) ( ) ( )
5 3 3
b. 3
8m−4 n5  4
81m8 n 2  9m−6 n5

6. Solve each of the following equations:

a. 2 x = 128 b. 35 x + 4 = 32 x −11

52
 1
c. 6 x−7 = 216 d. 7 x =
49

e. 82 x + 6 = 16 x −8 f. 5x +12
= 57 x
2

x +3 x −1
1  1 
g. 3 ( 2 ) = 96 h.   = 
x

 16   32 

53
 x +5

i. ( 22 x+4 )( 644− x ) =  128

1 



7. Graph each of the following:

x
1
a. y = 2 ( 3)
x−4
b. y = −4   − 3
2

54
 1
x −3
c. y = 2 2 x −6
+5 d. y = −2 2
−4

1
e. y = (3) 2 x −10 − 1 f. y = 3x +1
2

55
9. Identify each of the following relations as linear, quadratic, exponential, or
none of those. Show any work
x
1
a. y = 2   − 5 b. y = 3 x 2 − 4
4

d. y = 2 ( 5 )
x−2
c. y = 3 x − 4

e. f.
x y
x y
0 2
0 5
1 10 1 3
2 20 2 6
3 40 3 11
4 80 4 18
5 160 5 27

g. h.
x y
x y
0 -2
0 7
1 11 1 1
2 15 2 7
3 19 3 25
4 23 4 66
5 27 5 258

56
 10. Match each equation with its graph:
x
1
a. y = 2 ( 3) b. y = 2   c. y = 5 ( 3)
x x

4
x x
1 1
d. y = 4   e. y = ( 5 ) f. y =  
x

4 2
y y
A. B.
10 10

5 5

- 10 -5 5 10 x- 10 -5 5 10 x
-5 -5

- 10 - 10
y y
C. D. 10
10

5 5

- 10 -5 5 10 x - 10 -5 5 10 x
-5 -5
y y
- 10 - 10
E. 10 F.
10

5
5

- 10 -5 5 10 x
- 10 -5 5 10 x
-5
-5 57

- 10
- 10
11. There are currently 50 sea turtles in a wildlife sanctuary. Write an
equation to represent the number of turtles in the sanctuary x years from
now if:
a. the population is increasing at a rate of 2.5% per year.

b. the population is decreasing at a rate of 2.5% per year.

12. The cost of a candy bar, C (in dollars), is increasing according to the
formula: C = 0.05 (1.08 ) , where n is the number of years that have passed
n

since 1960. Round answers to 2 decimal places.

a. What was the cost of a chocolate bar in 1960?

b. By what percent has the cost of a chocolate bar been increasing each year
since 1960?

c. What was the cost of a chocolate bar in 2015 if the price continues to
increase at this rate?

13. In 1991 there were approximately 3.7 million computers in use in Canada.
Since then, the number of computers has increased at a rate of 17.1% per
year.
a. Write an equation to represent the number of computers in use in Canada
when x years have passed since 1991.

b. How many computers were in use in Canada in 2001?

58
14. For every 1 m decent into water the intensity of light decreases by 2.5%.
Round answers to 2 decimal places.
a. Write an equation to represent the percent of light intensity remaining when
the light has travelled x metres below water.

b. What percentage of the light’s intensity would remain if the light had
travelled 5.3 metres below the water?

15. A radioactive isotope has a half-life of 4 days. If you start with a 20 mg

sample. Round answers to 2 decimal places.
a. Write the equation to model the amount of the radioactive isotope remaining
after x half-lives have passed.

b. How much of the radioactive isotope would remain after 3 half-lives?

c. How much of the radioactive isotope would remain after 28 days?

d. How much of the radioactive isotope would remain after 20 days?

e. How much of the radioactive isotope would remain after 13 days?

59
16. An office machine’s value is modelled by the function V = 5200 ( 0.80 ) , where
n

V is the value (in dollars) of the machine and n is the number of years that
have passed since the machine was purchased. Round answers to 2
decimal places.
a. Is the value of the machine increasing or is the value of the machine
decreasing? Explain how you can tell.

b. What would the value of the machine be 12 years after it was purchased?

17. A radioactive isotope has a half-life of 2 weeks. Suppose you have 100g of
the isotope now. Round answers to 2 decimal places
a. Write an equation to model the amount of the radioactive isotope after x
weeks have passed.

b. What would the mass of the radioactive isotope be after 10 weeks?

18. There are 50 bacteria in a petri dish. The number of bacteria doubles every
day.
a. Write an equation that models the number of bacteria in the dish after x
days have passed.

b. How many bacteria would be in the dish after 6 days?

c. How many bacteria would be in the dish after 2 weeks?

60
19. The population of mice in a national park can be modelled by the function:
P = 2500 (1.13) , where n is the number of years that have passed since the
n

year 2000.
a. Is the population of mice in the park increasing or is the population
decreasing? Explain how you can tell.

b. How many mice were in the park in the year 2000?

c. What will the population of mice in the park be in the year 2015?

20. A radioactive material has a half-life of 6 days. There are 500 grams of
the radioactive material to start.
a. Write the exponential function that models the amount of radioactive
material after x half-lives.

b. Write the exponential function that models the amount of radioactive

material after n days.

c. Find the amount of radioactive material that remains after 5 half-lives.

d. Find the amount of radioactive material that remains after 18 days.

e. Find the amount of radioactive material that remains after 20 days.

61
21. The population of rabbits in a national park can be modelled by the
function: P = 430 ( 0.83) , where n is the number of years that have passed
n

since the year 1995.

a. Is the population of rabbits in the park increasing or is the population
decreasing? Explain how you can tell.

b. How many rabbits were in the park in the year 1995?

c. What will the population of rabbits in the park be in the year 2013?

62
Answers:

Page 2: Exponent Laws:

1. m7 2. 213 3. n9 4. 516 5. n6
6. 8n15 7. 35m 6 8. −4n10 9. 5m 2 10. 21m10 n 6
11. 288m 23 12. 8m15 n 6 13. m16 14. m5 15. 26
16. 316 17. m 26 18. n16 19. 218 20. 334
21. m 24 22. −18m 6 23. 36n 21 24. 221 25. 224

Page 4: Zero and Negative Exponents

1 1 2m 4 4n 4
1a. m6 b. c. d. x 2 e. f.
m7 x14 x3 3m
y12 1 1 24 2 w2 y 4
g. h. i. j. k. −5m15 n 6 l.
x8 15 10
m n x4 m8 5 x3
m7 x8 1 −24m3 −25m12 n15
m. 6 n. o. 7 p. q. r.
n 16 y12 2 n3 32 8m12
1 1
s. 36 t. m18 u. v. w. 314 x. n 24
n18 223
2 9n19
y. z.
9m18 2

1 −1 1 1 1
2a. b. c. d. e. f. 216
25 64 9 8 5
16
g. h. −8 i. 1 j. -1 k. 1 l. 1
9
3 1 1 81
m. n. 8 o. p. 75 q. r.
2 9 128 4

Page 8: Rational Exponents

1a. 4 b. 7 c. 16 d. 9 e. 8 f. 9

1 1
g. 8 h. 5 i. 32 j. 3 k. l.
2 9

1 1 1 1 1 1
m. n. o. p. q. r.
8 8 5 3 32 16

1 1 1 1 1
s. t. u. v. 3 w. x.
16 64 125 27 32
3 7 1 1 1 5
2a. x 4 b. x 6 c. x 8 d. x 6 e. x 4 f. x12
63
 1 1
g. 1
h. 5
4 12
x x
1 1
3a. b. 5 c. d. 8 e. 27 f. 4
216 8

1
g. 243 h. 16 i. 128 j. 256 k. 16 l.
256

1
m. 32 n. 8 o. 4 p. q. 8 r. 32
4

1 1
s. t.
8 25

1 1
4a. 16 b. 125 c. 7 d. 8 e. f.
8 4

1 1 1 1
g. 9 h. 8 i. j. k. l.
5 5 128 19683

Page 15: Exponents, The Workout

1 64n
1a. b. x c. −45a d. −14m e. −9m f.
5 7 15 5
6
m 5

−3
3 49 3
1 1
g. h. 1 i. j. −3a 5 k. n 60 l. −4x 4
x 4
m2
m

−7a 9 20n3 9x9 −12a 3 −15 z 5

m. n. o. 12 p. q. 10n r.
4

b8 m7 y b4c 4 2 x4
11 8
1 4 3 4 9
5m b n
2a. −4b 3
b. c. x y
5 5
d. 9 e. 5
2n 2 6
a m
1 3
−3m 3 −2
1 1
b2 2b10
f. g. 1 h. −42a b 6 6
i. 5 j. 7
a 2
n x 4 ac 15

1
k. 98 20
15 3
4m n
17
1 1
3a. 5 b. 612 c. d. e. 3
3 0
2 1
5 2
2 5

64
 21

f. 2 10

17
4a. 5 b. 7 c. d. 0 e. 11
72

1
f.
2

33 27 145 17 17
5a. 256 b. c. d. e. f.
16 10 5184 32 9

b9 3y 5 12 y 5 12d 7 1 2
6a. 6 12 b. 3 2 c. d. e. f. x
6a
7 x
ac xz x2 3
2
c
n −3 2a−2 9 a − 2b
g. m h. m i. c j. x k. x
5 2b

−3 a + 6 b
7a. 3 b. 16 c. 5 d. 2 e. 6
5x 4 a−1 10 x+1

f. (2 5m−n
)( 3
− m +3n
)

Page 24: Exponential Equations

11 −3
1. 6 2. 3. 4. −2
3 2
−6
5. 2 or 1 6. -1 7. 8. -2 or -3
7
−3
9. 4 10. 11. 1 12. -2 or -1
2
1 −1
13. 9 14. 9 or -1 15. or -2 16.
2 2
17. 2 or 1 18. -6 or 1 19. 2 20. 1
−8 2
21. 9 22. 2 23. 24.
3 3

65
Page 30: Introduction to Exponential Functions

1a. b.
y y

80
140

120
60
100

80
40
60

40
20
20

-4 -2 2 4 x
-4 -2 2 4 x

Domain:  x   b. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  0 Range:  y  y  0
y-intercept: y = 1 y-intercept: y = 1
asymptote: y = 0 asymptote: y = 0

2a. linear b. quadratic

c. exponential d. quadratic
e. exponential
3a. quadratic b. exponential
c. linear d. exponential

Page 32 Graphing Exponential Functions

Use Desmos to check your answers

Page 34: Comparing Exponential Functions

Use Desmos to check your answers and ask for help if you need it.

Page 36: Exponential Growth

1a. 1.14 b. 1.06 c. 1.034 d. 1.082
e. 1.105 f. 1.23
2a. 20% b. 5% c. 2.5% d. 15%
e. 45% f. 35%
3a. 645 000 b. 1.4% c. 762 105
4a. P = 10 100 000 (1.0125 ) b. 18 796 325
n

66
5. about $141 000 000 000
6a. M = 43 ( 2 ) b. 688 g c. 5504 g
n

7a. V = 65 (1.08 ) b. $240.50 c. about 9 years

n

8a. P = 800 (1.012 ) b. 945

n

9a. 1 197 911 b. 81 413

10a. 1650 b. 1.25% c. 1868
11a. 3.5% b. $142 000 c. $229 854.62

Page 40: Exponential Decay

Answers:
1a. 0.86 b. 0.94 c. 0.966 d. 0.918 e. 0.895 f. 0.77
2a. 80% b. 95% c. 97.5% d. 85% e. 55% f. 65%
3a. 0.85 b. V = 12000 ( 0.85) c. $5324.46
x

4a. P = 1000 ( 0.97 )

x
b. 858
5a. C = 34 ( 0.87 )
x
b. 19.48 mg
6a. C = 100 ( 0.98 )
x
b. 36.42%
7a. A = 1000 ( 0.5 )
x
b. 31.25 g c. 3.10 g
8a. A = 300 ( 0.5 )
x
b. 2 c. 10 d. 18.75 g
e. 0.59 g f. 11.02 g
9a. $20 000 b. 16% c. $7025.96
10a. I = 100 ( 0.96 )
x
b. 75.14% c. 60.53%
11a. 4000 b. 6% c. 2154
12a. 304 b. 148

Page 45: Test Review

9 −1 1
1a. 8 b. c. −9 d. 25 e. f.
16 32 25
1 25
g. h. i. −8 j. 1 k. 1 l. 1
16 16

m. -1 n. 7 o. 1 p. 4 q. 8 r. 125

1 1 1
s. t. u.
32 216 243

2a. m9 b. n 5 c. 2 8 d. 313 e. m8 f. x16

g. 410 h. 216 i. x15 j. m6 k. 212 l. 516
67
 1 1 1
m. n. m7 o. p. 4 8 q. 2 6 r.
m3 27 38
1 1
s. t.
m6 x12

3a. 24m12 b. −8m5 c. −4m8 d. 2m5 e. 8m12 f. 9m10

8 −36 25 4 1 1
g. h. i. j. 16 k. l. 11
m5 m3 m8 m m2 m
162
m. 10
m
1 1 1 1 1
4a. b. c. d. 128 e. f.
16 125 2187 16 9
1 1 −1 16
g. h. i. j.
25 16 8 9

5a. 216 b. 96m16 n 21

6a. x = 7 b. x = −5 c. x = 10 d. x = −2 e. x = −25 f. x = 3 , x = 4
g. x = 5 h. x = 17 i. x = −21

7. use Desmos to check answers

8a. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  0
y=0
Increasing

b. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  −3
y = −3
Increasing

c. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  5
y=5
Increasing

d. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  −4
y = −4
68
 decreasing

e. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  −1
y = −1
Increasing

f. Domain:  x  
Range:  y  y  0
y=0
Increasing

9a. exponential b. quadratic c. linear d. exponential

e. exponential f. quadratic g. linear h. none of these

10. a. E b. C c. B d. F e. A f. D

11a. P = 50 (1.025 ) b. P = 50 ( 0.975 )

x x

12a. $0.05 b. 8% c. $3.45

13a. C = 3700000 (1.171) b. 17 937 861

x

14a. L = 100 ( 0.975 ) b. 87.44%

x

15a. R = 20 ( 0.5 ) b. 2.5 g c. 0.16 g d. 0.63 g e. 2.10 g

x

16a. decreasing. The b value is less than one. b. $357.34

x
17a. R = 100 ( 0.5 ) 2 b. 3.13 g

18a. B = 50 ( 2 ) b. 3200 c. 819 200

x

19a. increasing. The b value is greater than one. b. 2500 c. 15 635

69
 n
20a. R = 500 ( 0.5 ) b. R = 500 ( 0.5 ) 6 c. 15.63 g d 62.5 g e. 42.61 g
x

21a. decreasing b. 430 c. 15

70