F.IF.4 For a function that models a relationship between two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables... and sketch graphs showing key features... Also A.REI.11, F.IF.7.e, F.LE.5
To define what exponential growth is, we can look at the function y=a times b to the power of x, where a can not equal to 0, b is greater than 0, b can not equal to 1, and x is a real number.
Let's look at a few examples containing these rules.
For example lets graph y=(2)^x
As you can see, this is an exponential growth graph, because the value of b is greater than 1.
Now let's check out another example where b is less than 1. As we can see, since b is less than 1 the graph is a decay. However, what if we add a -2 in front of the function. In the second picture, we see the graph flip on the negative side of the y-axis.