The population of bunnies in March is 12. A researcher notices that the population is tripling each month. The population can be represented by the equation: P = 12(3)x, where x is the number of months since March. What will the population of bunnies be after 5 months?

Answer 1

To find the population of bunnies after 5 months, we'll use the given equation \( P = 12(3)^x \), where \( x \) is the number of months since March.

We need to calculate the population for \( x = 5 \):

\[ P = 12(3)^5 \]

Next, we calculate \( 3^5 \):

\[ 3^5 = 3 \times 3 \times 3 \times 3 \times 3 = 243 \]

Now we can substitute that value back into the equation:

\[ P = 12 \times 243 \]

Calculating \( 12 \times 243 \):

\[ P = 2916 \]

Therefore, the population of bunnies after 5 months will be \( \boxed{2916} \).