Suppose the population of a town is 11,800 and is growing 3% each year. Predict the population after 9 years.

Answer 1

Here's the setup:

P = 11800(1+0.3)⁹

Exponent is the projected year, 0.3 is the percent in decimal form, and the outer number is the initial population. Remember the Order of Operations:

Grouping/Parenthesis

Exponent

Multiply/Divide

Add/Subtract

Answer 2

P(t) = 11800·1.03^t, for t = 9 P(9) = 11800·1.03⁹ = 15396