Question

Suppose that another outbreak has been detected. On Sept 1, there were 60 reported cases. A week later, there were 75 reported cases.

If the disease continues spreading exponentially, how many weeks after Sept 1 will 850 cases be expected? Round to the nearest weeks

Answer 1

Cases will increase to 850 in half day

Explanation:

Given

The number of reported cases increase from 60 to 75 in seven days (week)

rate of increase of cases = 75-60/7 = 15/7

Now, as per the exponential growth equation

`P = P_0 * e^(r*t)`

Substituting the given values we get

`850 = 60 * e^{(15)/(7) * t}\\e^{(15)/(7) * t} = 14.167`

Taking log on both sides we get

15/7 * t = 1.15

t = 1.15 *7/15

t = 0.537 days = half day