Answer:
229460.32
Explanation:
This problem requires understanding of exponential functions.
First we will write an exponential function representing this decreasing population with x representing the number of years from now.
An exponential equation will have the formula y = a(b)^x
Initial value of a is 250000
b is the rate. We have been given that the population is decreasing by 1.7% each year. So overall the new population would be (100-1.7)% of what it was before.
100-1.7 is 98.3. The rate that we plug into b will be in the form of a decimal. So b is equal to 0.983
Now we just substitute into our equation:
y = 250000(0.983)^x
The question asks for when x is equal to 5 so we just plug 5 into x and use a calculator to evaluate.
After evaluation, we get 229460.32
Hope this helps :)