Question

David studies the tiger population of a nearby national park. He has calculated that the population decreased by 1.35% per year over the past 10 years.If a recent census estimates 325 tigers currently in the park, how many would be left in the park 6 years from now?

Answer 1

Given:

Rate of decrease = 1.35% = 0.0135

Current population of tigers = 325

Let's find the number of tiger that would be left in the park 6 years from now.

Apply the exponential decay formula:

$y=a(1-r)^x$

Where:

a is the initial amount = 325

r is the decay rate = 0.0135

x is the number of years = 6

Plug in values into the formula and solve for y:

$\begin{gathered} y=325(1-0.0135)^6 \\ \\ y=325(0.9865)^6 \\ \\ y=325(0.921685038) \\ \\ y=299.54\approx300 \end{gathered}$

Therefore, the number of tigers that would be left in the park 6 years from now is approximately 30.

ANSWER:

300