Exploring Exponential Growth: Real-World Word Problems

A bacteria culture doubles in size every hour. If the initial number of bacteria is 5, how many bacteria will there be after 4 hours?

• 40

• 100

• 20

• 80

A tree grows at a rate of 3 times its height every year. If the tree is 2 feet tall now, what will its height be after 3 years?

• 54 feet

• 36 feet

• 18 feet

• 12 feet

A certain type of investment triples in value every 2 years. If you invest $100, how much will it be worth after 6 years?

• $900

• $3600

• $2700

• $1800

A computer's processing speed doubles every 18 months. If the current speed is 2 GHz, what will the speed be after 3 years?

• 4 GHz

• 8 GHz

• 10 GHz

• 6 GHz

A population of rabbits increases exponentially. If there are currently 10 rabbits and the population doubles every month, how many rabbits will there be after 5 months?

• 400

• 320

• 200

• 150

A certain species of fish can reproduce every 3 months, and each pair produces 4 offspring. If you start with 2 pairs, how many fish will there be after 1 year?

• 256

• 324

• 64

• 128

A viral video gets 5 views on the first day and doubles its views each subsequent day. How many views will it have after 7 days?

• 320

• 400

• 240

• 160

A savings account earns interest that doubles the amount every 5 years. If you start with $200, how much will you have after 15 years?

• $2000

• $1600

• $400

• $800

A certain plant grows exponentially, reaching 10 feet in 4 years. If it continues to grow at the same rate, how tall will it be in 8 years?

• 100 feet

• 75 feet

• 50 feet

• 20 feet

A smartphone app downloads increase exponentially. If it starts with 100 downloads and doubles every week, how many downloads will it have after 5 weeks?

• 2400

• 1600

• 3200

• 4000