Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
We need to first find the model for this particular situation, knowing that this is an exponential decay problem. The main equation for exponential growth/decay (as far as population goes for our problem) is
[tex]y=a(b)^x[/tex] where a is the initial population, b is the rate of decrease in the population which can also be written as (1 - r), y is the population after a certain amount of time, x, goes by. We will let year 2015 = 0 so year 2021 can = 6. This keeps our numbers lower and doesn't change the answer!
Our initial population in the year x = 0 is 62500. Our rate of decay is
(1 - .016) so our b value is .984
Filling in to find our model:
[tex]y=62500(.984)^x[/tex]
Now we can use that model and sub in a 6 for x to find the population in the year 2021:
[tex]y=62500(.984)^6[/tex] and
y = 62500(.9077590568) so
y = 56734.9 or, rounded to the nearest person, 56735
