- Recognize power functions and understand how they behave as the values get really big or really small
- Recognize polynomial functions, noting their degree and leading coefficient
- Describe how polynomial functions behave at specific points or small intervals on their graphs
When you spend time on your phone or tablet, you might not realize that your digital behavior follows mathematical patterns. Social media apps track various metrics – from the time you spend scrolling and battery usage to video views and data consumption. These patterns can be modeled using polynomial functions, helping us understand everything from how quickly your battery drains to why certain videos gain and lose popularity over time. Let’s analyze some common scenarios you might encounter during your daily screen time and see how polynomial functions help explain these digital patterns.