what is the answer and how do I solve this problem

Question

The population of an octopus increased by 2% from 2000-2003. If the population was at 2,000,000 on dec 31 2003, then what would the population have been on Jan 1 2000? Round to the nearest thousand.

Answer 1

From the beginning of 2000 through the end of 2003, the population increased by 2%.  Let P be the population at the start of 2000.  Then at the end of 2003, the population was 1.02P, which is given as 2,000,000.

 

1.02P = 2,000,000

 

P =2,000,000/1.02 ≅ 1,961,000

 

to the nearest thousand.