Question

The rate, r, at which people get sick during an epidemic of the flu can be approximated by r = 1600te^(−0.5t), where r is measured in people/day and t is measured in days since the start of the epidemic.

(a) When are people getting sick the fastest?

(b) How many people get sick altogether?,

Answer 1

When people are getting sick the fastest, the rate (r) is at its maximum. This will happen at half of the total time (t) because exponential has a negative term. The total number of people that get sick would be (r) divided by total time (t), and this will be greater than 1600.