Western Governors University (WGU) MATH1200 C957 Applied Algebra Practice Exam

When an increase is expressed as a percentage, it typically indicates exponential growth. This is because exponential growth occurs when the increase is proportional to the current value, leading to larger absolute increases as the quantity grows. For example, if an investment grows by a percentage annually, each year's growth builds upon the previous year's total, resulting in a rapidly increasing value over time.

In contrast, linear growth involves increases by a fixed amount rather than a percentage, where the same absolute increase is applied regardless of the current value. Constant growth would imply that the quantity increases by the same amount each time period without regard to its current size. Decay growth generally refers to a decrease expressed as a percentage, which is not relevant in the context of discussing an increase. Therefore, expressing growth as a percentage is inherently associated with the concept of exponential growth due to its compounding nature.