The population of Bigville increased from 387,480 to 571,533 in the last 7 years. During the same time period, Smallville increased its population by 53.67%. Compare the towns to determine which is growing at the greatest rate and by what factor? (round to nearest hundredth)

Question

Responses

Answer 1

To compare the growth rates of Bigville and Smallville, we need to determine the percentage increase in population for both towns.

For Bigville:
Population increase over 7 years = 571,533 - 387,480 = 184,053
Percentage increase = (population increase / initial population) × 100
Percentage increase = (184,053 / 387,480) × 100
Percentage increase = 47.53%

For Smallville:
Percentage increase = 53.67%

Comparing the percentages, we can determine that Smallville is growing at a greater rate than Bigville.

To find the factor by which each town is growing, we can use the formula:

Growth factor = (percentage increase / 100) + 1

For Bigville:
Growth factor = (47.53 / 100) + 1
Growth factor = 1.4753

For Smallville:
Growth factor = (53.67 / 100) + 1
Growth factor = 1.5367

So, Smallville is growing at a greater rate by a factor of approximately 1.54, compared to Bigville's growth rate of approximately 1.48.