Math 1 · Unit 7 · Lesson 3 · part 1 of 5
The Words We Use
The vocabulary for this lesson, in one place.
Words we use
| Word | Plain English | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Exponential growth | The output gets bigger by the same factor each step: b bigger than 1. | The curve rises faster and faster. |
| Exponential decay | The output gets smaller by the same factor each step: b between 0 and 1. | The curve falls and flattens. |
| Growth factor, decay factor | The number b you multiply by each step. | Read it off the equation, or build it from the percent. |
| Growth rate, decay rate | The percent change: how far b is from 1. | Factor above 1 minus 100%; or 100% minus a factor below 1. |
| Percent to factor | Start from 100%, add or take away the percent, write as a decimal. | Grows 10%: 1.10. Loses 25%: 0.75. |
| b = 1 | Multiplying by 1 changes nothing: a flat line, not exponential. | The boundary between decay and growth. |