Question

The population of White Oak, PA decreased by 6% between the years of 1990 and 1998. If the total population for the two years was 16,984, find the population in 1990 and 1998.
I need to see this worked out. I do not get it. Please Help!!

Answer 1

Start by defining x as the population in 1990. The population in 1998 is .94x using the fact that the population decreased by 6%. Add the two values to get 1.94x=16984. Now we can divide to get x=16984/1.94, which is the population for 1990. For 1998, the population will be the resulting number multiplied by .94

Answer 2

okay I get the .94% because of the decrease in 6% but please explain where you get the 1.94% that"s where I got lost. I got the answers 8755 and 8229 but where did you get the two values to add together out of the word problem

Answer 3

The problem says that the total population of both years is 16984, which can be written as x+.94x=16984.

Answer 4

X is just an unknown quantity or variable.

Answer 5

okay thank you