Suppose the population of a town is 8,600 and is growing 3% each year. Predict the population after 3 years.
To predict the population after 3 years, we can use the formula for exponential growth:
Population after 3 years = Initial population * (1 + growth rate)^number of years
Plugging in the given values:
Population after 3 years = 8,600 * (1 + 0.03)^3
Population after 3 years = 8,600 * (1.03)^3
Population after 3 years = 8,600 * 1.0927
Population after 3 years ≈ 9,381
Therefore, the predicted population of the town after 3 years would be approximately 9,381.