A population of 1,750 cheetahs decreases by 11% per year. How many cheetahs will there be in the population after 10 years? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.

A4969

B486

C546

D1640

Verified Answer :

The answer is C. 546.

If a population decreases by 11%, that means that 89% (100% - 11% = 89%) of cheetahs remains each number. 89% can be expressed as 0.89, so to calculate the change of the population, we must each year multiply the number of cheetahs by 0.89.

After 1 year:     1750 0.89 
≈ 1558
After 2 years:  1558
0.89 ≈ 1387
After 3 years:  1387 0.89 ≈ 1234
After 4 years:  1234
0.89 ≈ 1098
After 5 years:  1098 0.89 ≈ 977
After 6 years:  977
0.89 ≈ 870
After 7 years:  870 0.89 ≈ 774
After 8 years:  774
0.89 ≈ 689
After 9 years:  689 0.89 ≈ 613
After 10 years:  613
0.89 ≈ 546