A country's population in 1990 was 59 million. In 2002 it was 63 million. Estimate the population in 2018 using exponential growth formula. Round your answer to the nearest million
P = new population A = starting population k is a constant and t is number of years. e is a logarithm function
using the 2 known years we know 2002-1990 = 12 years the population in 2002 was 63 million, population in 1990 was 59 million
so using the above equation we can solve for k: 63 = 59e^k12 divide both sides by 59: 63/59 = e^k12 1.06779 = e^k12 find logorithm of left side to get rid of the e on the right side:
ln 1.06779 = k12
0.06559 = k12 divide both sides by 12 for k: k = 0.06559 / 12 = 0.00546644 now we want to find population in 2018
2018 - 1990 = 28 years so now t = 28 using the same formula we have:
P = 59e^(0.00546644*28)
P = 68.758 million rounded to nearest million = 69 million people
