Real exponential functions/Growing behavior/Remark
For a real exponential function
the relation
holds, due to fact. Hence, there is a proportional relationship between the function and its derivative , and is the factor. This is still true if is multiplied with a constant. If we consider as a function depending on time , then describes the growing behavior at that point of time. The equation means that the instantaneous growing rate is always proportional with the magnitude of the function. Such an increasing behavior (or decreasing behavior, if ) occurs in nature for a population, if there is no competition for resources, and if the dying rate is neglectable (the number of mice is then proportional with the number of mice born). A condition of the form
is an example of a differential equation. This is an equation for a function, which expresses a condition for the derivative. A solution for such a differential equation is a differentiable function which fulfills the condition on its derivative. The differential equation just mentioned are fulfilled by the functions