Question

A small town in West Virginia has decreased in population by 4% per year for the past two consecutive years. If the population is now 1,284, what was the population two years ago? Round the final answer to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

The answer is 1386.72.

First, you have to find 4% (population decrease) of 1,284 (population now), which is 51.36.

Multiply 51.36 x 2 (2 years the population decreased) to get 102.72.

Add 1,284 and 51.36 to get 1,386.72.

Our answer is 1,386.72, but since you have to round to the nearest whole number, the answer really is:

1,387

Hope this helped!