Question

For a science project, Zeke is studying the rate that a cell phone battery depletes. Which mathematical model would best represent this study?

a) Exponential decay
b) Linear growth
c) Polynomial function
d) Quadratic equation

Answer 1

The best mathematical model to represent the depletion of a cell phone battery is exponential decay, as it captures the consistent percentage decrease in charge over time.

Step-by-step explanation:

For Zeke's science project that is studying the rate at which a cell phone battery depletes, the mathematical model that would best represent this study is exponential decay. Cell phone batteries tend to lose charge in a manner where the amount of charge decreases by a certain percentage over equal time intervals, which is a characteristic of an exponential decay process. Unlike linear growth or polynomial functions, exponential decay accurately describes situations where a quantity reduces by a consistent percentage rather than by a consistent amount or more complex polynomial rates.