Thread: Population Growth Problems

I am in 11th grade Algebra 2 Standards and have a question about something our teacher is teaching us in class. Admittedly, I have a very low level of math capabilities, so I am sorry if this question seems "stupid" to anyone We started doing population growth problems the other day in class, however, we were doing them with whole percents, no decimals. Here is an example of the problem we have been doing, followed by an example of the kind that I am confused with. Thank you all

The population of cats is 1,000, it increases 2% each year. Write an Expression.

I would write.
1,000*1.02^x
x=years

Or if it decreased 2% I would write 1,000*.98^x.

HOWEVER, what if the population of cats increases by 2.5% each year instead of 2%? How would I put in a number that has decimal in a problem like this?

1,000*1.025^x?!?!?
(Just my guess)
Thank you.

It looks good. You seem to be grasping it quite well.

There is no such thing as a stupid question. If you are genuinely confused, ask away!! Never be ashamed to admit you are stuck on something. Everyone has to ask sometime. Stop being so negative about your abilities.