1-Pager
10th Grade  Project 4 weeks

Money Grows: Exponential Finance

Sarah Field Marks Bernard, Jr. Lauren Wiggins
Sarah Field, Marks Bernard, Jr., +1
Updated
AII-F.IF.7.e
AII-F.BF.5.a
AII-F.LE.4
Critical Thinker
1-pager

The Challenge

When revenue, loan balances, and utility costs change exponentially, you can misread how quickly small shifts in rate produce major differences in profit, debt, and repayment time. This challenge affects local businesses and larger economies alike because unclear interpretation of intercepts, end behavior, and inverse relationships between exponents and logarithms can distort financial forecasts and delay sound decisions.

Challenge Question

How might we address rising delivery, loan, and utility costs for Brooklyn small businesses so that neighborhood entrepreneurs supported by the Business Outreach Center Network can use a clear forecasting tool to compare revenue growth, interest, and repayment options and make stronger financial decisions?

Standards

  • [New York] AII-F.IF.7.e - Graph cube root, exponential and logarithmic functions, showing intercepts and end behavior; and trigonometric functions, showing period, midline, and amplitude.
  • [New York] AII-F.BF.5.a - Understand inverse relationships between exponents and logarithms algebraically and graphically.
  • [New York] AII-F.LE.4 - Use logarithms to solve exponential equations, such as $(ab^{c})^{t} = d$ (where a, b, c, and d are real numbers and b > 0) and evaluate the logarithm using technology.

Competencies

  • Critical Thinker - Analyzes information thoughtfully, evaluates evidence critically, and identifies patterns and connections between different pieces of information (across multiple content areas) to address complex issues and navigate the world with insight.

Learning Partners and Clients

A financial planner from Edward Jones or a local NYC CFP practice can serve as an expert client by reviewing students’ exponential and logarithmic models, showing how interest growth and repayment timing are analyzed in real advising work, and giving feedback on the clarity of the decision dashboard. The Business Outreach Center Network in Brooklyn can provide case examples from immigrant-owned and neighborhood small businesses facing rising delivery, loan, and utility costs, host a short interview or critique session, and respond to how well students represent intercepts, end behavior, and repayment options. Together, these partners connect students’ role as financial planners for a Brooklyn community organization to a real audience that can use the forecasting tool with local businesses.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can step into the role of a financial planner by analyzing a Brooklyn small business case during a launch simulation, spotting how rising loan, delivery, and utility costs affect growth, and asking questions about how graph shape, intercepts, and end behavior reveal the root of the problem.
Examine
I can investigate case data from Brooklyn small businesses to identify patterns in revenue, loan balances, and costs and explain when an exponential model fits the situation. I can graph exponential functions with intercepts and end behavior to compare growth and decay in realistic financial scenarios. I can use logarithms and technology to determine when a business will reach a revenue target or repay a debt and explain what that timing means for decision-making. I can analyze feedback and examples from a financial planner or the Business Outreach Center Network to evaluate which repayment options are most realistic and useful for neighborhood businesses.
Engineer
I can develop a decision dashboard for neighborhood small businesses that models exponential revenue growth, interest, and repayment timing, clearly graphs intercepts and end behavior, and includes a practical guide for choosing a repayment plan that a Brooklyn community organization can use.
Do
I can use my dashboard with sample and partner-provided business scenarios, collect data on how accurately it predicts growth and repayment timing, and revise my recommendations based on user feedback and the results of exponential and logarithmic analysis.
Share
I can share my dashboard and findings in a community showcase with peers, families, school staff, a financial planner, and Brooklyn business partners, explaining how my mathematical choices support small-business decisions and reflecting on how I grew as a critical thinker who can connect graphs, evidence, and real community needs.