Answer: y = 3 ⋅ 2 x Explanation: All exponential functions can be written in the form y = a b x . We just need to solve for a and b . Since the function goes through the points ( 1 , 6 ) and ( 2 , 12 ) , x = 1 ⇒ y = 6 and x = 2 ⇒ y = 12
( 1 ) . Since x = 1 ⇒ y = 6 , we just need to input these values into the equation y = a b x to get 6 = a b . Since x = 2 ⇒ y = 12 , we just need to input these values into the equation y = a b x to get 12 = a b 2
( 2 ) . Since neither a nor b can be zero, we can safely divide equation ( 2 ) by equation ( 1 ) to get 12 6 = a b 2 a b , or 2 = b . Since 6 = a b , it must be the case that a = 3 . Our final exponential function is y = 3 ⋅ 2 x . We can rewrite this function in several other forms, such as y = 3 ⋅ 2 x = 2 ln ( 3 ) ⋅ 2 x = 2 x + ln ( 3 ) or y = 3 ⋅ 2 x = 3 ⋅ e x ln ( 2 ) = 3 ⋅ 10 x log 10 ( 2 ) .