SOLUTION: Suppose that you have a bowl of 500 M&M candies, and each day you eat 1/4 of the candies you have. Is the number of candies left changing linearly or exponentially? Write an equati

Algebra ->  Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations  -> Linear Equations and Systems Word Problems -> SOLUTION: Suppose that you have a bowl of 500 M&M candies, and each day you eat 1/4 of the candies you have. Is the number of candies left changing linearly or exponentially? Write an equati      Log On


   

Question 789285: Suppose that you have a bowl of 500 M&M candies, and each day you eat 1/4 of the candies you have. Is the number of candies left changing linearly or exponentially? Write an equation to model the number of candies left after n days.
Answer by josgarithmetic(39630) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Which way when a fraction of an M&M results? I will show a simulation based on continuous M&Ms, not whole numbers.

DAY___________Number M&Ms
0_____________500
1_____________375___________500*0.75
2_____________281.25________500*(0.75)^2
3_____________210.94________500*(0.75)^3
4_____________158.20________500*(0.75)^4
.
.
n___________________________Can you see this pattern?

The way the number changes is the number is a set fraction of what it was the day before. This is not linear.