A corn farmer produces 40,000 bushels of corn in her first year of farming. Due to improved farming techniques, she increases the production by 5% each year. How many total bushels of corn did she produce in her first 4 years of farming? Round your answer to the nearest whole number. (1 point)
First, we need to find how many bushels of corn the farmer produced in each year after the first year. We start with the first year and increase it each year by 5%. So for year 2, she produces 40,000 * 1.05 = <<40000*1.05=42000>>42,000 bushels of corn.
For year 3, she produces 42,000 * 1.05 = <<42000*1.05=44100>>44,100 bushels of corn.
For year 4, she produces 44,100 * 1.05 = <<44100*1.05=46305>>46,305 bushels of corn.
To find the total bushels produced in all 4 years, we add up the bushels produced in each year: 40,000 + 42,000 + 44,100 + 46,305 = <<40000+42000+44100+46305=172405>>172,405 bushels of corn. Answer: \boxed{172,405}.