A scientist is researching the effects of caffeine - AQA - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 10 - 2018 - Paper 1
Question 10
A scientist is researching the effects of caffeine. She models the mass of caffeine in the body using
$$m = m_0 e^{-kt}$$
where $m_0$ milligrams is the initial mas... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A scientist is researching the effects of caffeine - AQA - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 10 - 2018 - Paper 1
Step 1
Use the model to form an equation to find $k$ with 5.7 hours: $m = \frac{1}{2} m_0$
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Answer
Since it takes 5.7 hours for the caffeine to halve:
m=21m0
Substituting into the model gives:
21m0=m0e−5.7k
Dividing both sides by m0 (assuming m0=0) leads to:
21=e−5.7k
Taking the natural logarithm:
ln(21)=−5.7k
Therefore:
k=−5.7ln(21)≈0.1216047
Step 2
Use $m = m_0 e^{-kt}$ with $m_0 = 400$ and $k \approx 0.1216$ to find $m$ at $t = 4$
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Answer
At midday (4 hours after 8 am), we substitute m0=400 mg (2 cups of coffee) and k≈0.1216 into the model:
m=400e−0.1216×4
Calculating this gives:
m≈400×e−0.4864≈400×0.61557≈246.23
Thus, the estimated mass of caffeine in the scientist's body at midday is approximately 246 mg.