Exponential Equations Practice II

Site: Saylor Academy
Course: MA120: Applied College Algebra
Book: Exponential Equations Practice II
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Date: Saturday, 3 May 2025, 2:25 PM

Description

Table of contents

Practice Problems

  1. -4\cdot 3^{\large{6w}}=-1750

    What is the solution of the equation?

    Round your answer, if necessary, to the nearest thousandth.

    w\approx

  2. 5\cdot 2^{\large{-3t}}=45

    Which of the following is the solution of the equation?

    Choose 1 answer:

    1. t=-\dfrac{\log_2(9)}{\log(3)}
    2. t=-\dfrac{1}3\log_2(9)
    3. t=-\dfrac{1}3\log_9(2)
    4. t=-\dfrac{\log_9(2)}{\log(3)}

  3. 500\cdot 5^{\large{\frac{y}{3}}}=1

    What is the solution of the equation?

    Round your answer, if necessary, to the nearest thousandth.

    y\approx

  4. 4\cdot 2^{\large{-\frac {t}{5}}}=288

    Which of the following is the solution of the equation?

    Choose 1 answer:

    1. t=-5\log_{288}(8)
    2. t=-5\log_{72}(2)
    3. t=-5\log_8(288)
    4. t=-5\log_2(72)

Source: Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra2/x2ec2f6f830c9fb89:logs/x2ec2f6f830c9fb89:exp-eq-log/e/solve-exponential-equations-using-logarithms-base-2
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Answers

  1. The process

    To solve an exponential equation, we must first isolate the exponential part.

    Then, we can solve for the exponent by converting the equation to logarithmic form using the following equivalence:

    \qquad b^t=a\qquad if and only if \qquad \log_b{a}=t

    Isolating the exponent

    Let's isolate the exponent in this equation:

    \qquad\begin{aligned}-4\cdot3^{\Large{6w}}&=-1750\\\\3^{\Large{6w}}&=\dfrac{-1750}{-4}\\\\3^{\Large{6w}}&=437.5\\\\\end{aligned}

    Converting to log form and solving for w

    If we write the above equation in logarithmic form, we get:

    \qquad \begin{aligned}\log_{3}\left(437.5\right)&=6w\\\\\dfrac{1}{6}{\log_3\left(437.5\right)}&=w\end{aligned}

    Approximating the value of w

    Since the solution is a base-3 logarithm, we can change the base to 10 and then evaluate using the calculator. 

    \begin{aligned}\dfrac{1}{6}{\log_3\left(437.5\right)}&=\dfrac{1}{6}\cdot\dfrac{\log\left(437.5\right)}{\log(3)}\\\\\\&\approx 0.923\end{aligned}

    The solution

    The answer is: w\approx 0.923


  2. The process

    To solve an exponential equation, we must first isolate the exponential part.

    Then, we can solve for the exponent by converting the equation to logarithmic form using the following equivalence:

    \qquad b^c=a\qquad if and only if \qquad \log_b{a}=c

    Isolating the exponent

    Let's isolate the exponent in this equation:

    \qquad\begin{aligned}5\cdot2^{\Large{-3t}}&=45\\\\2^{\Large{-3t}}&=\dfrac{45}{5}\\\\2^{\Large{-3t}}&=9\end{aligned}

    Converting to log form and solving for t

    If we write the above equation in logarithmic form, we get:

    \qquad \begin{aligned}\log_{2}\left(9\right)&=-3t\\\\\\-\dfrac{1}{3} {\log_2\left(9\right)}&=t\end{aligned}

    The solution

    The solution is: t=-\dfrac{1}{3} {\log_2\left(9\right)}


  3. The process

    To solve an exponential equation, we must first isolate the exponential part.

    Then, we can solve for the exponent by converting the equation to logarithmic form using the following equivalence:

    \qquad b^t=a\qquad if and only if \qquad \log_b{a}=t

    Isolating the exponent

    Let's isolate the exponent in this equation:

    \qquad\begin{aligned}500\cdot5^{\Large{\frac{y}{3}}}&=1\\\\5^{\Large{\frac{y}{3}}}&=\dfrac{1}{500}\\\\5^{\Large{\frac{y}{3}}}&=0.002\\\\\end{aligned}

    Converting to log form and solving for y

    If we write the above equation in logarithmic form, we get:

    \qquad \begin{aligned}\log_{5}\left(0.002\right)&=\dfrac y3\\\\3\,{\log_5\left(0.002\right)}&=y\end{aligned}

    Approximating the value of y

    Since the solution is a base-5 logarithm, we can change the base to 10 and then evaluate using the calculator. 

    \begin{aligned}3\,{\log_5\left(0.002\right)}&=\dfrac{3\log\left(0.002\right)}{\log(5)}\\\\\\&\approx -11.584\end{aligned}

    The solution

    The answer is: y\approx -11.584


  4. The process

    To solve an exponential equation, we must first isolate the exponential part.

    Then, we can solve for the exponent by converting the equation to logarithmic form using the following equivalence:

    \qquad b^c=a\qquad if and only if \qquad \log_b{a}=c

    Isolating the exponent

    Let's isolate the exponent in this equation:

    \qquad\begin{aligned}4\cdot2^{\Large{\frac {-t}{5}}}&=288\\\\2^{\Large{\frac {-t}{5}}}&=\dfrac{288}{4}\\\\2^{\Large{\frac {-t}{5}}}&=72\end{aligned}

    Converting to log form and solving for t

    If we write the above equation in logarithmic form, we get:

    \qquad \begin{aligned}\log_{2}(72)&=\dfrac{-t}{5}\\\\5{\log_2(72)}&=-t\\\\-5\log_2(72)&=t\end{aligned}

    The solution

    The solution is: t=-5\log_2(72)