Question

Ellie got a new job, and her starting salary is $40,000. If she stays with the company, she can expect to receive a 3% salary increase each year. You can use a function to describe Ellie's salary after she has worked for the company x years.
Is the function linear or exponential? Make an equation that best represents the function

Answer 1

The function is exponential because her salary increases by a fixed percent each year (the raise is applied to the current salary).

S(x) = 40000(1.03)^x, where x is the number of years (x ≥ 0, typically an integer).

(For example: S(1) = 40000·1.03 = 41,200; S(2) = 40000·1.03^2 = 42,436.)