A wildfire can spread triple the area every hour. The size of the wildfire was 10 acres when it was first detected. Which represents the size of the fire, $A$, in acres $t$ hours after the first detection?
Answer:
D
Explanation
The correct answer is Choice D.
Use the given information to construct an equation for the size of the wildfire, $A$, $t$ hours after it was first detected.
Choice A is incorrect because the factor of growth is less than $1$ which means that the size of the fire will decrease each hour.
Choices B and C are incorrect because $10$ is the initial size of the wildfire and not the factor of growth.
✨ Expert's Tip ✨
In an exponential equation $y = A_0 (B)^{\frac{t}{c}}$, $A$is the initial value, $B$ is the growth factor, and $C$ is the period.