Does the table represent an exponential function?

x 1 2 3 4

y - 2 - 12 - 72 - 432

a) yes

b) no

Yes this is an exponential function. One way we can determine this is to notice how each y term is multiplied by 6 to get the next y term

example: - 2 times 6 = - 12

another example: - 12 times 6 = - 72

The exponential function that models this data is y = - 2*6^ (x-1). Note how plugging in x = 1 leads to y = - 2. Plugging in x = 2 leads to y = - 12, and so on.