The population of a city increases by 5% per year. What should we multiply the current population by to find the next year's population in one step?

Answer 1

To find the next year's population given a 5% increase, you can multiply the current population by $1+\text{rate of increase}$.

In this case, the rate of increase is 5%, which can be expressed as a decimal:

$$5$$

Now, you add 1 to this decimal:

$$1+0.05=1.05$$

Therefore, to find next year's population in one step, you should multiply the current population by 1.05.