A biologist is comparing the growth of a population of flies per week to the number of flies a lizard will consume per week. SHe
has devised an equation to solve for which day(x) the lizard would be able to eat the entire population. The equation is 3^x=5x-1 Explain the biologist how she can solve this on a graph using a system of equation
This equation can be solved graphically by plotting the equations f(x) = 3^x and g(x) = 5x-1.
The x-coordinate of the point(s) of intersection is the solution.
_____ On my graphing calculator, I find it easier to locate x-intercepts, so I would rewrite the equation as 3^x -(5x -1) = 0 and plot the function h(x) = 3^x -(5x -1) The x-intercept(s) would be the solutions. (There are two: x≈0.577, x=2.)