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Growth and Decay

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Summary
The content focuses on solving growth and decay word problems, a rare but potential question type on the GRE, involving populations or samples that increase or decrease over time.
  • Growth and decay problems might involve natural growth of populations or radioactive decay, among other scenarios.
  • You do not need specialized scientific knowledge to solve these problems; all necessary mathematical information is provided within the question.
  • The basic approach involves being given a starting value and a multiplier or divisor for a fixed time interval, with the task to calculate the resultant amount after a certain period.
  • Solving these problems requires taking the calculations step by step, using the given time interval as a guide to incrementally determine the final amount.
  • Examples include calculating the remaining mass of a radioactive isotope after a set period and determining the size of a bacteria population after several growth intervals.
Chapters
00:01
Understanding Growth and Decay Problems
00:36
Solving Without Specialized Knowledge
00:53
Step-by-Step Calculation Method
01:25
Practical Examples

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