Math 1 · Unit 10 · Lesson 4 · part 1 of 4
The Words We Use
The vocabulary for this lesson, in one place.
Words we use
| Word | Plain English | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Exponential regression | Finding the exponential curve that fits the data best. | Technology gives a and b for y = a · bx. |
| Roughly constant | Close to the same, not exact. | Real ratios wobble; look for steady, not identical. |
| Initial value, a | The model's value when x = 0. | Read it in the story: about 12 gnats at the start. |
| Growth factor | b bigger than 1: what the amount is multiplied by each step. | 1.63 = 1 + 0.63: grows about 63%. |
| Decay factor | b between 0 and 1. | 0.49 = 1 − 0.51: keeps about 49%. |
| Constant ratio | The exponential pattern from Unit 7: divide each output by the one before. | In real data it is only roughly constant. |