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The number of letters processed daily at a mail center is modeled by the decreasing exponential function shown in the graph.
What is the long-term trend in the number of letters processed per day, based on the equation of the horizontal asymptote?
The graph shows a decreasing exponential function.
In Applied Algebra, a decreasing exponential function may approach a fixed value over time. This fixed value is called the horizontal asymptote.
The horizontal asymptote represents the long-term value that the function gets closer and closer to, but does not necessarily cross or reach exactly.
From the graph, the curve decreases quickly at first, then begins to level off near:
This means that as time continues, the number of letters processed per day approaches:
So the long-term trend is that the mail center will process about: