Question

Thanks to its environmental initiatives, Lexington has cut its annual CO2 emissions by 5%. This year, the town produced 380,000 metric tons of emissions. If the downward trend continues, how much CO2 will be produced 3 years from now?

If necessary, round your answer to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

Lexington will produce approximately 342,800 metric tons of CO2 3 years from now.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the amount of CO2 that will be produced 3 years from now, we first need to calculate the annual CO2 emissions after the 5% reduction.

Let x be the current annual CO2 emissions. After the 5% reduction, the annual CO2 emissions will be 0.95x.

So, 0.95x = 380,000 metric tons.

To find x, we divide both sides of the equation by 0.95:

x = 380,000 / 0.95 = 400,000 metric tons.

Now, we can calculate the annual CO2 emissions 3 years from now.

After each year, the annual CO2 emissions will decrease by 5%.

So, the annual CO2 emissions after 3 years will be:

400,000 * 0.95^3 = 400,000 * 0.857 = 342,800 metric tons.

Therefore, 3 years from now, Lexington will produce approximately 342,800 metric tons of CO2.