a. Use what you've learned in this unit to model the population of Western
Lowland Gorillas after 5, 10 and 20 years. Let y equal the population of the
gorillas and x represent the number of years since 2022. Show your work.

b. Use the information calculated in step A to create a table showing the Gorilla
population after 5, 10 and 20 years.

c. Explain why the table shows exponential decay. Summarize how scientists
can use exponential decay to predict population changes in endangered
species. Summarize your answer in 1-2 paragraphs.

Respuesta :

An exponential function can either represent population growth or population decay

How to model the population

The question is incomplete, as the resources to model the population of the Western Lowland Gorillas are not given.

However, the following is a general guide to solve the question.

An exponential function is represented as:

[tex]y=a(1 \pm r)^x[/tex]

Where:

  • (a) represent the initial value i.e. the initial population of the Western Lowland Gorillas
  • (r) represents the rate at which the population increases or decreases.
  • (x) represents the number of years since 2022
  • (y) represents the population in x years

Given that the population of the Western Lowland Gorillas decreases, then the rate of the function would be 1 -r (i.e. an exponential decay)

Take for instance:

[tex]y = 20000 * 0.98^x[/tex]

By comparison.

a = 2000 and 1 - r = 0.98

The above function can be used to model the population of the Western Lowland Gorillas

Read more about exponential functions at:

https://brainly.com/question/11464095