Home » Maths for Planet Earth » A Cocoa Catastrophe

A Cocoa Catastrophe

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Print

Chocolate is made from a crop called cocoa, which grows on a tree. Cocoa trees are vulnerable to extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, which means that more and more cocoa trees do not successfully produce cocoa each year. 

The number of cocoa trees in a plantation that are still producing cocoa is given by

\[C = 16500\ \times {0.82}^{n}\]

where \(n\) is the number of years after the cocoa trees are first planted.

a) Write down the number of cocoa trees first planted.

[1 mark]

b) Write down the annual percentage decrease of cocoa trees.

[2 marks]

c) Show that the number of successful cocoa trees after 4 years is less than half the number of trees first planted.

[2 marks]

Start exploring

Latest from blog

More Maths for Planet Earth

A Level
During a particularly hot summer, the area of a small forest was reduced by fire. The area, Akm2, of the surviving forest is modelled
GCSE
A citizen wants to reduce their carbon footprint, so decides to grow their own produce in their garden. The area set out for growing
GCSE
The graph, from the IPCC 1.5 Report, shows how the rate of carbon dioxide emissions couldfall between 2020 and 2040, or between 2020 and
GCSE
One way of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slowing global warming is to plant trees which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
MetLink - Royal Meteorological Society
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experienceBy clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies. More info

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies. More info