Question

2. The population of a school is 800 students and is increasing at a rate of 2% per year. Write an

exponential growth function, then find the population of the school after 9 years.

Answer 1

1.) y=800e^(0.02t)

2.) 957.76 (or 958 if rounding up is required)

Explanation:

1.) Since the increase is in years and our time is in years, we can use the function y=Pe^(rt) where P is our beginning value, r is rate (as a decimal) and t is time. Substitute the values P=800, r=0.02 to get y=800e^(0.02)t.

2.) Solving the equation above, we substitute t for 9, we get:

Y=800e^(0.02*9)

Y=800e^(0.18)

Y=800*(1.1972)

Y=957.76

Since it asks for population, you may or may not need to round to 958.