I am having trouble solving this problem. In 1994, the population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was about 1,076,000 with an average annual growth rate of 6.5%. Assume this growth rate continues into the future.

Question

I have to estimate the population of Las Vegas each year. I know that the equation should be written in this format, y=ab^x, but what would the equation be? Please help me.

Answer 1

P(n) = Population n years after 1994
= (1,076,000)(1.065)^n

Example: in 1996, after 2 years,
P(n=2) = 1,220,426

in 2007, 13 years after 1994,
P(n=13) = 2,439,817

In case you are curious, the entire population of Clark County NV, which includes Las Vgas, hit 2 million in late 2007. That includes Boulder City and Laughlin, which are well outside the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Therefore the annual growth estimate of 6.5% was too high.