Colette has an exterminator visit regularly to control an ongoing cockroach problem. It's been working, and the population has declined by 15% every year. If the population is currently 3,800 cockroaches, how many will there be in 3 years?
To calculate the population of cockroaches in 3 years, we need to find the population after each year.
Year 1:
Population after the first year = 3,800 * (1 - 0.15) = 3,800 * 0.85 = 3,230 cockroaches
Year 2:
Population after the second year = 3,230 * (1 - 0.15) = 3,230 * 0.85 = 2,745.5 rounded to 2,746 cockroaches
Year 3:
Population after the third year = 2,746 * (1 - 0.15) = 2,746 * 0.85 = 2,334.1 rounded to 2,334 cockroaches
Therefore, in 3 years, the population of cockroaches will be 2,334.