AAPL wrote:GMAT Prep

If a town of 25,000 people is growing at a rate of approximately 1% per year, the population of the town in 5 years will be closest to?

A. 26000
B. 27000
C. 28000
D. 29000
E. 30000

OA A

After 1 year, the growth will be:

25,000 + 250 = 25,250

After 2 years the growth will be:

25,250 + 252 = 25,502

After 3 years the growth will be:

25,502 + 255 = 25,757

So essentially, we see that the growth is a little more than 250 people a year.

25,000 + 250 x 5 = 26,250, so about 26,000.

Alternate solution:

The population of the town in 5 years is:

25,000 x (1 + 0.01)^5 = 25,000 x 1.01^5 = 26,275, which is closest to 26,000.

Answer: A