Which one of the following scenarios can be modeled by an exponential function?

a population of bacteria that increases by 10 every hour
a population of bacteria that increases by 10 every hour

the total pay of a person who earns $15 per hour
the total pay of a person who earns $15 per hour

a population of bacteria that doubles every hour
a population of bacteria that doubles every hour

the total pay of a person who earns a different rate depending on the job

1 answer

The scenario that can be modeled by an exponential function is:

a population of bacteria that doubles every hour.

In this case, the population increases by a factor of 2 every hour, which is characteristic of exponential growth. The other scenarios describe linear growth or different rates of pay, which do not follow an exponential model.