The table gives the percent of total households that have married couples for selected years from 1982 and projected to 2050. Complete parts​ (a) through​ (c) below.

Question

Year
Percent
Year
Percent

1982
59
2020
46
1990
56
2030
45
2000
53
2040
44
2010
49
2050
43
The predicted percent of total households that have married couples in 2034 is approximately
  
enter your response here​%.

Answer 1

To predict the percent of total households that have married couples in 2034, we can observe the trend in the provided data.

Here are the relevant years and percentages from the table:

• 2010: 49%
• 2020: 46%
• 2030: 45%
• 2040: 44%
• 2050: 43%

Let's analyze the pattern from 2010 to 2050 to estimate the percentage for 2034.

1. The decrease from 2010 (49%) to 2020 (46%) is a drop of 3%.
2. The decrease from 2020 (46%) to 2030 (45%) is a drop of 1%.
3. The decrease from 2030 (45%) to 2040 (44%) is also a drop of 1%.
4. The decrease from 2040 (44%) to 2050 (43%) is again a drop of 1%.

From 2010 to 2030, we see a pattern where the decreases are 3%, 1%, and 1% for the next two decades. Predicting for 2034, we anticipate a continued slight decrease after 2030:

• From 2030 (45%), we can intuitively assume that by 2034, the percentage will have decreased by an additional value (likely around 0.5% given the trend has settled to smaller declines).
• Hence, the approximation for 2034 might be around 45% - 0.5% = 44.5%.

Therefore, the predicted percent of total households that have married couples in 2034 is approximately 44.5%.