The average attendance at a local high school year was 950 students.Each year the attendance decreases at a rate of 0.5% per year.

Question

(Cont'd of question)  What will the average attendance be in three years?

 

Multiple choice answers are :

 

945

941

936

893

Answer 1

This is in essence an exponential decay problem.

A = A₀e^-rt

 

A = future or final amount

e = Euler's number ≅ 2.7183

      Most calculators have this programmed in as a function key.

r = rate of decline as a decimal = .005

t = time = 3 years

 

A = 950e^-0.005(3)

A = 935.86

 

Rounding to nearest whole number there should be

936 students attending after 3 years.