In a simple model, the value, $V$, of a car depends on its age, $t$, in years - Edexcel - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 8 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 8
In a simple model, the value, $V$, of a car depends on its age, $t$, in years.
The following information is available for car A
- its value when new is £20000
- it... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:In a simple model, the value, $V$, of a car depends on its age, $t$, in years - Edexcel - A-Level Maths Pure - Question 8 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
(a) Use an exponential model to form, for car A, a possible equation linking V with t.
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Answer
To model the value of car A, we can use the exponential decay formula:
V=Aekt
where:
V is the value of the car at time t,
A is the initial value of the car when new,
k is the rate of depreciation,
t is the time in years.
Given that:
V(0)=20000 (initial value), and
V(1)=16000 (value after 1 year),
we can substitute these values into the equation:
From the equation, we know:
20000ek(1)=16000
Dividing both sides by 20000 yields:
e^{k} = rac{16000}{20000} = 0.8
Taking the natural logarithm of both sides:
k=extln(0.8)
Thus, the equation for car A can be expressed as:
V=20000eextln(0.8)t
Step 2
(b) Evaluate the reliability of your model in light of this information.
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Answer
To evaluate the reliability of the model, we need to calculate the expected value after 10 years using our derived formula:
Substituting t=10 into our model:
V(10)=20000eextln(0.8)imes10
This simplifies to:
V(10)=20000imes0.810
Calculating this yields:
0.810≈0.1074,
thus,
V(10)≈20000imes0.1074≈2148.
However, the actual value after 10 years is £20000, which indicates that our model greatly underestimates the car's value over long terms. Therefore, the model is not reliable for long-term predictions as it does not account for the situation that the car should not depreciate to such a low value.
Step 3
(c) Explain how you would adapt the equation found in (a) so that it could be used to model the value of car B.
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Answer
To adapt the model for car B, which depreciates more slowly but starts with the same initial value,
we can adjust the parameter k. If car B's depreciation rate is less severe, we can express k as a smaller negative value (i.e., k′>k).
Thus, the equation for car B can be written as:
VB=20000ek′t,
where k′ is a new depreciation rate that is less negative than the original k. This adjustment will allow the model to reflect the slower depreciation of car B.