Question

The population of Nottingham highschool can be modeled using the equation p (t) =2,600 (0.96)^t, where t is the number of years since 2000,
is the population of nottingham increasing or decreasing Explain how you can tell using the equation

Answer 1

Equation:
$p(t) =2,600 (0.96)^t$

When t = 1,

$p(1) =2,600 (0.96)^1 = 2496$

When t = 2,

$p (t) =2,600 (0.96)^2 = 2396.16$

Answer: The population is decreasing. We can tell from the equation because the value of the exponent of a number smaller than one decreases as the exponent value increases.