To solve this problem, we first need to establish the function that represents the number of students at Birchwood Elementary School over time. The problem states that the number of students increased exponentially. This can typically be modeled with an exponential growth function of the form:
\[ P(t) = P_0 \cdot e^{kt} \]
where:
- \( P(t) \) is the population at time \( t \),
- \( P_0 \) is the initial population,
- \( k \) is the growth rate, and
- \( t \) is the time in years.
Given that \( P_0 = 240 \), we can find the growth rate \( k \) if we are provided with information about the number of students at various points in time.
However, if we need to simply find out how many years it takes for the population to reach 365, we can take an approach based on known growth.
Since we're looking for the simplest answer, let's test the options by evaluating the population over simple growth assumptions.
- Assumption of Doubling:
- In the first year, let's assume a growth rate leading to students increasing from 240.
- Testing for the duration:
- Year 1: \( ~300 \) (a rough increase assuming simple growth)
- Year 2: \( ~360 \) (closer but still under 365)
- Year 3: \( ~400 \) (goes over 365)
Since we don't have the explicit growth function, we can intuitively see:
- After Year 1: slightly under 365
- After Year 2: still under but close to 365
- After Year 3: exceeds 365
Thus, it reaches 365 after approximately 3 years.
The correct answer is C. 3 years.
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