Complete the table for the function y= 3(1/9)^x.

x y
-2 __
-1 __
0 __
1 __
Now, graph the function.
Plot two points to graph the function

1 answer

To complete the table for the function \( y = 3\left(\frac{1}{9}\right)^x \), we will calculate \( y \) for each given value of \( x \).

First, let's express \( \frac{1}{9} \) in terms of powers of 3: \[ \frac{1}{9} = 3^{-2} \] Thus, we can rewrite the function as: \[ y = 3(3^{-2})^x = 3 \cdot 3^{-2x} \] This simplifies to: \[ y = 3^{1 - 2x} \]

Now, let's calculate the values for each \( x \):

  1. For \( x = -2 \): \[ y = 3^{1 - 2(-2)} = 3^{1 + 4} = 3^5 = 243 \]

  2. For \( x = -1 \): \[ y = 3^{1 - 2(-1)} = 3^{1 + 2} = 3^3 = 27 \]

  3. For \( x = 0 \): \[ y = 3^{1 - 2(0)} = 3^{1} = 3 \]

  4. For \( x = 1 \): \[ y = 3^{1 - 2(1)} = 3^{1 - 2} = 3^{-1} = \frac{1}{3} \]

The completed table will look like this:

\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline x & y \ \hline -2 & 243 \ -1 & 27 \ 0 & 3 \ 1 & \frac{1}{3} \ \hline \end{array} \]

Now, let's plot the two points:

For graphing, we can use the first two calculated points that are significant in demonstrating the function's behavior:

  • \( (-2, 243) \)
  • \( (-1, 27) \)

Note:

Since I cannot provide a visual graph, here's how you would plot:

  1. Create a coordinate system with an appropriate scale.
  2. Plot point \( (-2, 243) \) high on the y-axis.
  3. Plot point \( (-1, 27) \) lower than the first but still notably high.

This function will show an exponential decay as \( x \) increases, approaching but never quite reaching \( y = 0 \) as \( x \) becomes larger. The points will help illustrate this rapid decrease.

If you have graph paper or a graphing tool, you can draw the curve based on these values. The points will help provide a visual reference for the function behavior.