The population of a Midwest industrial town decreased from 215,000 to 209,000 in just 2 years. (Continued in description)

Question

The population of a Midwest industrial town decreased from 215,000 to 209,000 in just 2 years. Assuming that this trend continues, what will the population be after an additional 3 years?

 

Round to the nearest whole number as needed.

Answer 1

Assuming the population decrease is roughly linear, we can say that the population decreases by a rate of 3000 people per year. After 3 more years, we can expect the population to have decreased by another 3000 * 3 = 9000 people. Therefore, the final population will be 200,000