Sociology: General Terms and Concepts

A Dictionary of Biology A Dictionary of Plant Sciences A Dictionary of Sociology Further reading

exponential growth

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Copyright

exponential growth A form of population growth in which the rate of growth is related to the number of individuals present. Increase is slow when numbers are low but rises sharply as numbers increase. If population number is plotted against time on a graph a characteristic J-shaped curve results (see graph). In animal and plant populations, such factors as overcrowding, lack of nutrients, and disease limit population increase beyond a certain point and the J-shaped exponential curve tails off giving an S-shaped (sigmoid) curve.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"exponential growth." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"exponential growth." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-exponentialgrowth.html

"exponential growth." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-exponentialgrowth.html

Learn more about citation styles

exponential growth

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences | 1998 | | Copyright

exponential growth A form of growth in which the logarithms of a value increase linearly in any given period of time. This means that the value grows more rapidly than it would by linear growth. An example of exponential growth would be a population that grows by 10 per cent of its value in each unit of time. Thus, a population that starts with a value of 100 would grow as: 100, 110 (100 + 10% of 100), 121 (110 + 10% of 110), 132.1 (121 + 10% of 121), …

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

MICHAEL ALLABY. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-exponentialgrowth.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-exponentialgrowth.html

Learn more about citation styles

exponential growth

A Dictionary of Sociology | 1998 | | Copyright

exponential growth The exponential family of curves (Y = e^x) describes growth at an increasing (geometrical) ratio (as in the example of compound interest rates). Thomas Malthus (Essay on the Principle of Population, 1789) pointed out that if food resources increase in linear (arithmetical) ratio, and population increases exponentially, extinction is inevitable. A more descriptive model for growth is logistic. See also LOGISTIC GROWTH.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

GORDON MARSHALL. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

GORDON MARSHALL. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-exponentialgrowth.html

GORDON MARSHALL. "exponential growth." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-exponentialgrowth.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Exponential growth: Hospice reimbursement explodes in the 90s. Newspaper article from: Hospice Management Advisor; 12/1/2002
	Global well-posedness and scattering of a 2D Schrodinger equation with... Magazine article from: Bulletin of the Belgian Mathematical Society - Simon Stevin; 8/1/2010
	Exponential growth: hospice reimbursement explodes in the 90s: rapid growth... Newspaper article from: Hospice Management Advisor; 12/1/2002