Which salary plan would you choose and why? Write down your initial reaction.
Problem B2
Use a spreadsheet or some other method to figure out which salary plan is better.
When using a spreadsheet, create three columns, one for the week number, one for plan A, and one for plan B. When creating the rule for plan B, remember that the salary is doubling each week, and that the first week's salary is one penny, not one dollar. Close Tip
Problem B3
Are you surprised that the second salary grew so rapidly? Use the spreadsheet to determine how much money you would make from plan B in 40 weeks.
To make a column wider, click and hold down on the right edge of the column heading letter, then drag the mouse to the right. Close Tip
Video Segment In this video segment, on screen participants discuss the differences between salary plans A and B in Problems B1 and B2 above. In particular, they explore the differences between linear and exponential functions. Watch this segment after you have worked on Problems B1 and B2. If you get stuck, you can watch the video segment to help you.
Describe the difference in the ways salary plans A and B grow. Which one is a proportional change, and which is an absolute change? For more on this, see Session 4, Part A
You can find this segment on the session video, approximately 7 minutes and 51 seconds after the Annenberg Media logo.
