1. **State the problem:** A town has a population of 8,000 and grows at 2% every year. We want to find the population after 14 years, rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. **Formula used:** The population growth can be modeled by the exponential growth formula: $$P = P_0 \times (1 + r)^t$$ where: - $P$ is the population after $t$ years, - $P_0$ is the initial population, - $r$ is the growth rate (as a decimal), - $t$ is the time in years. 3. **Identify values:** - $P_0 = 8000$ - $r = 0.02$ (2% growth rate) - $t = 14$ 4. **Calculate:** $$P = 8000 \times (1 + 0.02)^{14} = 8000 \times 1.02^{14}$$ 5. **Evaluate the power:** $$1.02^{14} \approx 1.319$$(rounded to 3 decimal places) 6. **Multiply:** $$P = 8000 \times 1.319 = 10552$$ 7. **Final answer:** The population after 14 years will be approximately **10,552** people.