Exponential growth & decay graphs
Edexcel GCSE Maths revision on Exponential growth & decay graphs. Aligned to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Mathematics 1MA1 specification. This bank has 16 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 16)
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Question 1
Which of these functions represents a graph showing exponential growth?
- A) y = 3 to the power of x
- B) y = 1 divided by x squared
- C) y = 5 times x plus one
- D) y = 7 minus two to x
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Answer: y = 3 to the power of x
The correct answer is y = 3 to the power of x. Exponential growth is characterised by the variable being in the exponent, whereas linear functions have the variable as a base and inverse functions have the variable in the denominator.
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Question 2
What is the y-intercept of the exponential curve defined by y = 4 multiplied by 2 to the power of x?
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Answer: 4
The y-intercept occurs when x is equal to 0. Since 2 raised to the power of 0 is 1, the equation simplifies to 4 multiplied by 1, which equals 4.
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Question 3
Which property is always true for the graph of y = a to the power of x where a is greater than 1?
- A) the curve passes through zero one
- B) the curve passes through one zero
- C) the curve passes through zero zero
- D) the curve passes through one one
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Answer: the curve passes through zero one
The correct answer is the curve passes through zero one. Any non-zero base raised to the power of zero equals one, meaning the graph must cross the y-axis at (0, 1).
Want to test yourself on the remaining cards for this topic?
13 more questions on Exponential growth & decay graphs — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole Maths spec.