Question

The population of bears in a national forest is changing according to the function N(t) = 850(0.96)*, where t is the time in years and N(C) is the number of bears.

Which statement explains how the bear population is changing?
A. The population is decreasing by 4% per year.
B. The population is increasing by 96% per year.
C. The population is increasing by 4% per year.
D. The population is decreasing by 96% per year.

Answer 1

The population function is N(t) = 850(0.96)^t.

The base of the exponential function is (0.96), which is less than 1. This means that the function is decreasing over time.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

A. The population is decreasing by 4% per year.