The population of a city has increased by 38% since it was last measured. If the current population is 34,500, what was the previous population?
Let x be the previous population.
The increase in population is 38% of the previous population:
38% of x = 0.38x
The current population is the sum of the previous population and the increase:
x + 0.38x = 34,500
1.38x = 34,500
x = 34,500 / 1.38
x = 25,000
Therefore, the previous population was 25,000.