Concept:Compound growth applied to population over time.
Explanation:We are given the current population of a city and the annual growth rate. We need to find the population 3 years ago. Let's assume the population 3 years ago was
P0​.
The population increases by 8% annually. This means each year the population becomes 108% of the previous year's population.
So, after 1 year, the population would be
P0​×(1+1008​)=P0​×100108​=P0​×2527​.
After 2 years, the population would be
P0​×(2527​)×(2527​).
After 3 years, the population would be
P0​×(2527​)×(2527​)×(2527​).
We are given that the present population (after 3 years of growth) is 157464.
So, we can set up the equation:
P0​×(2527​)3=157464To find
P0​, we rearrange the formula:
P0​=157464÷(2527​)3P0​=157464×(2725​)3P0​=157464×27×27×2725×25×25​Let's calculate the values:
27×27×27=1968325×25×25=15625Now, divide 157464 by 19683:
157464÷19683=8So, the equation becomes:
P0​=8×15625P0​=125000Therefore, the population of the city 3 years ago was 1,25,000.
Answer:1,25,000