Mary noticed 5 ants in her pantry on Monday. On Tuesday she counted 15 ants in the pantry. On Wednesday she counted 45 ants in the pantry.
Part A
Determine an exponential function model to represent the number of ants in the pantry in terms of the number of elapsed days. Explain how you arrived at your model.
Part B
Using your exponential model predict how many ants would be in the pantry by Friday if the trend continues. Explain if your response is reasonable.
Part C
Does the problem situation represent exponential growth or decay? Justify your reasoning.