Suppose the population of a small town is 567 in 2011. The population decreases at a rate of 1.5% every year. What will be the population of the town in 2020? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.

Using an exponential function, it is found that the population of the town in 2020 will be of 495.What is an exponential function?A decaying exponential function is modeled by:[tex]A(t) = A(0)(1 - r)^t[/tex]In which:A(0) is the initial value.r is the decay rate, as a decimal.In this problem:The population of a small town is 567 in 2011, hence [tex]A(0) = 567[/tex].The population decreases at a rate of 1.5% every year, hence [tex]r = 0.015[/tex].Then:[tex]A(t) = A(0)(1 - r)^t[/tex][tex]A(t) = 567(1 - 0.015)^t[/tex][tex]A(t) = 567(0.985)^t[/tex]2020 is 9 years after 2011, hence:[tex]A(9) = 567(0.985)^9 = 495[/tex]The population of the town in 2020 will be of 495.You can learn more about exponential functions at