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If each year the population of the country grows by 20%

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by guerrero » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:12 pm
If each year the population of the country grows by 20%, how many years will elapse before the population of the country doubles?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 6
E) 7

OA3
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by swathi8388 » Fri Jun 28, 2013 2:32 am
if an amount x increases by a fraction a/b then the final amount = x * (1 + a/b)^n.

here the fraction is 20/100 ,plugging in from the asnwer to see when x doubles

1 gives = 1.2x not enough
2gives = 1.44x not enough
3 gives = 1.728x not enough
4 gives = 2.0736x enoguh because x has doubled

but the question asks how many years will elapse before the population doubles..now we know that the population doubled befoe the completion of 4 years..maybe 3 years and 10 months..so the answer is 3.
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