Using Exponential Growth To Find Out How Many Years It

Will Take For Unicorns To Outnumber The Horse Population

Of 2006

Part One: The Story Of The Great Disease That Caused

Horses To Mate With Rhinos (A.K.A THE CREATION OF THE
FIRST UNICORNS)

In 2006 the horse population was 58,372,1061. Little did the horses
know however, that their population would forever remain at this amount.
That same year a great disease, which is now known as Hubbingtonitis, hit
the horse species, making it impossible for horses to repopulate with each
other. The horses became very sad as they knew that their species would go
extinct in a number of years. However, they soon found out that
Hubbingtonitis had granted them immortality.
At first the horses were happy and excited that their species would
forever be able to roam the earth. Overtime however, the horses realized
that they were unable to protect themselves. Although horses were no longer
affected by disease and the ravages of time, predators and accidents could
still occur that would cause the horses to lose their lives. The horses became
afraid of the world and hid themselves away in order to protect themselves.
Finally after a few days of hiding a wise rhino came to the horses and
said Raaa raaa raaa. (english translation: Do not be afraid dear horses. For
I have a solution. Although you are unable to repopulate with each other, you
are able to repopulate amongst us rhinos. That way your offspring will be
strong and have horns and you will be able to protect yourselves in times of
1 "World Horse Population Estimated at 58 Million - Horsetalk.co.nz." Horsetalk World Equestrian News and
Information RSS. Horse Talk, 12 Sept. 2007. Web. 07 Feb. 2015. <http://horsetalk.co.nz/2007/09/12/world-horsepopulation-58m/#axzz3R67S1aze>.

need.) The horses cheered and followed the rhino to its homeland. On that
day the horses began to mate with the rhinos and 11 months later the first
10 baby unicorns were born. But the question remains, how long will it take
for unicorns to outnumber the horses. To solve this question we must use the
Exponential Growth Formula.

Part Two: Figuring Out How Many Years It Will Take

For Unicorns To Outnumber Horses by Using Exponential
Growth

Finally this is where the math comes in. In order to answer the question of
how long will it take for unicorns to outnumber horses, we must use the
exponential growth formula. The exponential growth formula is used to
calculate any quantity that grows by a fixed percentage at regular
1+r t . Now before we start
y=a
calculations lets start by breaking down the formula variable by variable!

intervals2. The exponential growth formula is

a=the initial population before the measuring the rate of

growth
r=the rate at which the population grows
t=the amount of time that has passed
y=final population size
Secondly lets find out at what rate unicorns will repopulate. In order to do so
we must take the repopulation rate of horses, which we will say is 37% and
2 Roberts, Donna. "Exponential Growth and Decay." Exponential Growth and Decay. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algebra/AE7/ExpDecayL.htm>.

the repopulation rate of rhinos, which we will say is 25%, and we will average
them together in order to find the final repopulation rate of a unicorn.
Repopulation Rate of Horse: 37%
Repopulation Rate Of Rhinos: 25%
Unicorn Repopulation Rate: 37+25/2=31%
Now that we have the rate at which unicorns repopulate we finally
have all the variables we need in order to figure out how long it will
take for unicorns to outnumber the horse population of 2006.
Rate (r): 31%
Final Population (y): 58,372,106
Initial Population (a): 10
Time In Years (t): Unknown
t
Exponential Growth Formula: 1+r
y=a
1+.31 t
Exponential Growth Formula With Our Variable:
58,372,106=10
In order to solve this equation the first thing to do is to divide out
the 10, in order to this we must divide both sides of the equation by
10.
1.31 t
10(1+.31 t )/ 10 5,837,210.6=
58,372,106 /10=
The second step we must take to isolate is that we must log both
sides of the equation.
1.31 t
log 5,837,210.6=log
Lastly in order to finally find the value of t in years we must divide
both sides by log(1.31).
log 5,837,210.6/log 1.31=(log 1.31t ) /log 1.31 57.697=t
Therefore we can see that it will take 57.697 years in order for the
horse population to equal the initial 2006 population of horses.
Therefore if we round up we can see that it will take at least 58
years for unicorns to outnumber the horse population.

Part Three: The Final Conclusion

In conclusion through the use of the exponential growth formula we
were able to see that it will take at least 58 years for unicorns to
outnumber the amount of horses there were in 2006. Yes I am aware that
unicorns do not exist and that this story of Hubbingtonitis is 100% in fact
made up, but if one day you are ever telling a unicorn story to a small
child you can pull out this fun story and even teach the child along the

way. To conclude this tale, or as unicorns would spell it tail, I have a

few questions for you too consider.
If you could mix any two animals together what would they be?
If the population of one of those animals was struck by Hubbingtonitis,
how long would it take for their hybrid to outnumber them?
What other interesting ways do you think the exponential growth formula
can be used?

P.S. I lied about unicorns not being real but dont try looking for them because they are
invisible