The price of the computer component is decreasing by 13% each year. This means that the price is decreasing by a constant percentage, so the decline is exponential.
In three years, the price of the component will be $31.72. This is calculated by multiplying the initial price ($50) by a factor of (1 - 0.13)^3.
In other words, the price of the component will be 87% of its original price in one year, 75.69% of its original price in two years, and 61.94% of its original price in three years.
So, the answer is exponential and the component will cost $31.72 in three years.