exponential growth: how to do P(10)= 300e^0.05(10) on calc?

[balkenator]

How do I do this on the calculator?
(population after 10 days)

P(10)= 300e^0.05(10)

[stapel_eliz]

To learn the particular key sequence for your particular calculator model, please review your owners manual.

[balkenator]

I don't have the owners manual.

[balkenator]

i'm getting an error message that says "overflow" Does anyone know what that's all about??

[stapel_eliz]

You should be able to download a manual from the manufacturer's web site. As for the error you are getting, you'll need to find a knowledgeable friend who can watch your keystrokes and diagnose what the problem might be.

[kklecan]

I use a TI calculator, and see an "overflow" message when I type in something that's too big for the calculator to handle. This happens when the exponent or the base is very large (or both!). In the case of your example, it may be in how you tell your calculator the order of operations.

P(10)= 300e^0.05(10)

Make sure you use parentheses around your exponent (here, I'm guessing you need (0.05*10), not 0.05(10) ), and make sure you don't multiply the 300 and the e together before you exponentiate.

My calculator is missing at this moment, or I would play around with this expression and see if I could get an overflow message as well. What you're looking for in a manual is how it treats order of operations... does it work left to right (in which case, it would do the 300 * e first, which you don't want), or does it follow order of ops (in which case, you should only need one set of parentheses, around the 0.05*10, assuming that the 10 belongs in the exponent)?

Good luck!