You can find the size of a population after t years using the formula N = No(1 + r)^t where No is the initial size of the population, N is the final size of the population, r is the rate of growth or decay per time period, and t is the number of time periods. Use this formula to answer the questions related to growth of populations.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the number of Americans on probation increased 76% from 1980 to 1995 and that 3.09 million Americans were on probation in 1995. If the rate of increase continues in the same way for the next 15-year period, what might be the number of Americans on probation in 2010?

It will increase by another factor of 1.76 in the next 15-year period.

I'm aware. But when I multiply 3.09 by 1.76 I'm not getting one of the answer options

To find the number of Americans on probation in 2010, we need to use the formula N = No(1 + r)^t.

First, we know that the initial size of the population (No) in 1995 was 3.09 million.

Next, we need to determine the rate of increase (r) per time period. We are given that the number of Americans on probation increased by 76% from 1980 to 1995. To find the rate of increase per time period, we need to divide this percentage by the number of years between 1980 and 1995: 76% / 15 years = 5.07% increase per year.

Now we know the initial population (No), the rate of increase (r), and the number of time periods (t) between 1995 and 2010 is 15 years. We can plug in these values into the formula N = No(1 + r)^t:

N = 3.09 million (1 + 0.0507)^15
N = 3.09 million (1.0507)^15
N ≈ 3.09 million (1.945)
N ≈ 5.998 million

Therefore, the estimated number of Americans on probation in 2010 would be approximately 5.998 million.