Edexcel C3 2015 June — Question 4

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleC3 (Core Mathematics 3)
Year2015
SessionJune
TopicExponential Functions

  1. Water is being heated in an electric kettle. The temperature, \(\theta ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\), of the water \(t\) seconds after the kettle is switched on, is modelled by the equation
$$\theta = 120 - 100 \mathrm { e } ^ { - \lambda t } , \quad 0 \leqslant t \leqslant T$$
  1. State the value of \(\theta\) when \(t = 0\) Given that the temperature of the water in the kettle is \(70 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\) when \(t = 40\),
  2. find the exact value of \(\lambda\), giving your answer in the form \(\frac { \ln a } { b }\), where \(a\) and \(b\) are integers. When \(t = T\), the temperature of the water reaches \(100 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\) and the kettle switches off.
  3. Calculate the value of \(T\) to the nearest whole number.