To create a function that models the growth of the glider monster, we'll start with the initial length and the growth rate.
The initial length of the goliath monster ( \( y_0 \) ) is 16 cm, and it grows by 15% each week. This means it retains 100% of its length while adding an additional 15%, which can be expressed as a growth factor of \( 1 + 0.15 = 1.15 \).
The function modeling the length of the goliath monster after \( x \) weeks can be expressed as:
\[ y = 16(1.15)^x \]
In this formula:
- \( y \) is the length of the goliath monster after \( x \) weeks.
- \( 16 \) is the initial length in cm.
- \( 1.15 \) is the growth factor, as the monster grows by 15% each week.
- \( x \) is the number of weeks.
So, if you want to find out how long the goliath monster will be after a certain number of weeks, you would substitute \( x \) with the number of weeks into the equation.
For example, if you want to know the length after 5 weeks:
\[ y = 16(1.15)^5 \]
You can calculate this to find the length at that time.