Course description

This interactive course unveils the mathematics behind some of nature's most compelling patterns—from viral spread and population growth to radioactive decay and cooling coffee. You'll begin by exploring exponential functions through interactive visualizations that bring abstract concepts to life. You'll also manipulate graphs to watch how small differences in growth rates create dramatic effects, discovering why these functions model everything from compound interest to bacterial colonies. The course then introduces logarithms, revealing how this inverse relationship unlocks solutions to previously unsolvable problems. Through guided exploration, you'll grasp why logarithms answer questions like "how long until my investment doubles?" or "when will this substance decay to safe levels?" In the second half, the focus shifts from computation to understanding the "why" behind the algebraic rules. Rather than memorizing formulas, you'll investigate the logical foundation of exponential and logarithmic properties. You'll discover why multiplying inputs leads to adding outputs, why certain transformation rules hold true, and how these patterns connect to real-world scenarios. Each property emerges naturally from hands-on investigation and reasoning. By the end, you'll recognize exponential and logarithmic relationships in everyday contexts and possess the mathematical toolkit to analyze them rigorously.

Topics covered

• Exponential functions
• Exponential growth
• Exponential decay
• Bases
• Initial value
• Change of base
• Logarithms