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Exponential growth is a process that increases quantity over time at an ever-increasing rate. It occurs when the instantaneous rate of change (that is, the derivative) of a quantity with respect to time is proportional to the quantity itself. Described as a function, a quantity undergoing exponential growth is an exponential function of time ...
The exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by or (where the argument x is written as an exponent ). Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, although it can be extended to the complex numbers or generalized to other mathematical objects like matrices or Lie algebras. The exponential function originated from the ...
Malthusian growth model. A Malthusian growth model, sometimes called a simple exponential growth model, is essentially exponential growth based on the idea of the function being proportional to the speed to which the function grows. The model is named after Thomas Robert Malthus, who wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), one of ...
Elementary definition by powers. Define the exponential function with base to be the continuous function whose value on integers is given by repeated multiplication or division of , and whose value on rational numbers is given by . Then define to be the exponential function whose base is the unique positive real number satisfying:
It follows from the preceding equations that when x is an integer (this results from the repeated-multiplication definition of the exponentiation). If x is real, results from the definitions given in preceding sections, by using the exponential identity if x is rational, and the continuity of the exponential function otherwise.
The number e is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that can be characterized in many ways. It is the base of the natural logarithm function. It is the limit of as n tends to infinity, an expression that arises in the computation of compound interest. It is the value at 1 of the (natural) exponential function, commonly ...
Relative growth rate ( RGR) is growth rate relative to size - that is, a rate of growth per unit time, as a proportion of its size at that moment in time. It is also called the exponential growth rate, or the continuous growth rate.
Biological exponential growth is the unrestricted growth of a population of organisms, occurring when resources in its habitat are unlimited. Most commonly apparent in species that reproduce quickly and asexually, like bacteria, exponential growth is intuitive from the fact that each organism can divide and produce two copies of itself.