Every year, endangered species experience population decline and are pushed closer to extinction. This decline in population is mostly caused by human destruction of these species’ natural habitat. The Western Lowland Gorilla is an example of an endangered species.
In 2022, there are 360,000 Western Lowland Gorillas remaining, with an annual population decline of 2.7%.
Question 1
Write an equation to represent the population of Western Lowland Gorillas. Let y equal the population of the gorillas and x represent the number of years since 2022.
Find the population after 5, 10 and 20 years.
The equation to represent the population of Western Lowland Gorillas is:
y = 360,000 * (1 - 0.027)^x
To find the population after 5, 10 and 20 years, substitute x with the respective number of years since 2022:
After 5 years:
y = 360,000 * (1 - 0.027)^5
After 10 years:
y = 360,000 * (1 - 0.027)^10
After 20 years:
y = 360,000 * (1 - 0.027)^20