Question

A county's population in 1991 was 147 million. In 1998 it was 153 million. Estimate the population in 2017 using the exponential growth formula. Round your answer to the nearest million.

Answer 1

Let t=number of years since 1991.
Then
P(t)=147 e^(kt) ... in millions
P(0)=147 e^(0)=147
P(7)=147 e^(7k)=153
e^(7k)=(153/147)
take ln both sides
ln(e^(7k))=ln(153/147)
7k=0.0400 => k=0.005715

Year 2017=>t=2017-1991=26
P(26)=147e^(26*.005715)=170.55
Answer: in 2017, the projected population is 170.55 millions.