Suppose radioactive substances A and B have decay constants of .02 and .07, respectively. If a mixture of these two substances at time t = 0 contains M_A grams of A and M_B grams of B, then a model for the total amount y of the mixture present at time t is

Suppose the initial amounts MA and MB are unknown, but a scientist is able to measure the total amounts present at several times and records the following points (t_i ; y_i):(10,21.34),(11,20.68),(12,20.05),(14,18.87), and (15,18.30).

a. Describe a linear model that can be used to estimate M_A and M_B. 

b. Find the least-squares curve based on (6).

Halley’s Comet last appeared in 1986 and will reappear in 2061.

Transcribed Image Text:

y = MAе-02t + MBе-.071