Questions: A population numbers 20,000 organisms initially and decreases by 4.1% each year. Suppose P represents population, and t the number of years of growth. An exponential model for the population can be written in the form P=ab^t, where P=
Transcript text: A population numbers 20,000 organisms initially and decreases by $4.1 \%$ each year.
Suppose $P$ represents population, and $t$ the number of years of growth. An exponential model for the population can be written in the form $P=a b^{t}$, where
\[
P=
\]
$\square$
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the initial population (\(P_0\))
The initial population size is given as \(P_0 = 20000\).
Step 2: Determine the rate of decrease (\(r\))
The rate of decrease per time period is given as \(r = 0.041\), expressed as a decimal.
Step 3: Calculate the base of the exponential function (\(b\))
Using the formula \(b = 1 - r\), we find the base of the exponential function to be \(b = 0.959\).
Step 4: Model the population change
Using the exponential decay formula \(P = P_0 \cdot b^t\), we model the population over time \(t\).
Step 5: Predict future population sizes
For a given time \(t = 5\), the predicted population size is \(P = 16222.7\).
Final Answer:
The predicted population size after \(t = 5\) time periods is \(P = 16222.7\), rounded to 2 decimal places.