A news item is spreading by word of mouth through a population of size 15,000 people. After t days, the number of people (in thousands) who have heard the news is given by the following equation:
y = f(t) = 15 / (1 + 150e^(-0.45t))
(a) Approximately how many thousand people have heard the news after 4 days? (Give your answer correct to at least three decimal places.)
0.5816 thousand people
(b) Calculate the derivative f'(t).
f'(t) = 1012.5e^(-0.45t) / (1 + 150e^(-0.45t))^2
(c) At what rate is the news spreading after 5 days? (Give your answer correct to at least four decimal places.)
0.3776 thousand people per day
(d) Compare the function f(t) to the solutions to the different forms of the logistic growth model. Enter the differential equation in terms of y that corresponds to this solution.
dy/dt = Ky(m - y)
(e) How many people have heard the news when its rate of spread is 1.5675 thousand people per day? (Give two answers. Give your answers correct to the nearest whole person.)
5.5 people (smaller value)
9.5 people (larger value)
(f) At what two times is the news spreading at rate 1.5675 thousand people per day? (Give your answers correct to at least three decimal places.)
9.92 days (smaller value)
12.39 days (larger value)
(g) What is the fastest rate at which the news spreads? (Give your answer correct to at least three decimal places.)
11.13 thousand people per day