In Miami, the number of highway accidents increased by 20% over a four year period. How many accidents were there in 2013 if there were 5,120 in 2009?
Accepted Solution
A:
We can model this scenario by using the exponential growth formula and plugging in values we know:
[tex]A = P(1+r)^{t}[/tex]
A, the resulting amount, is unknown P, the principle (starting) amount, is 5120 r, the rate at which P increases, is .05 (if a .2 increase spans over 4 years, there is a .05 increase each year) t, the amount of time that has passed, is 4
The equation now looks like this:
[tex]A = 5120(1.05)^{4}[/tex]
To find A, we just need to simplify the other side:
[tex]A = 6223.392[/tex]
In 2013, there were ~6224 Miami highway accidents (I rounded up because the amount was more than 6223, and you can't have a fraction of a car accident).