C3 January 2011 Q4

EdexcelOld spec8 marksLogs & ExponentialsModelling

4. Joan brings a cup of hot tea into a room and places the cup on a table. At time \(t\) minutes after Joan places the cup on the table, the temperature, \(\theta\,{}^\circ\mathrm{C}\), of the tea is modelled by the equation

\[\theta = 20 + A\mathrm{e}^{-kt},\]

where \(A\) and \(k\) are positive constants.

Given that the initial temperature of the tea was \(90^\circ\mathrm{C}\),

(a) find the value of \(A\). (2)

The tea takes 5 minutes to decrease in temperature from \(90^\circ\mathrm{C}\) to \(55^\circ\mathrm{C}\).

(b) Show that \(k = \dfrac{1}{5}\ln 2\). (3)
(c) Find the rate at which the temperature of the tea is decreasing at the instant when \(t = 10\). Give your answer, in \(^\circ\mathrm{C}\) per minute, to 3 decimal places. (3)