1. **State the problem:** A town has an initial population of 16000 and grows at a rate of 4.5% per year. We want to find the population after 8 years. 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 time $t$ - $P_0$ is the initial population - $r$ is the growth rate (as a decimal) - $t$ is the time in years 3. **Identify values:** - $P_0 = 16000$ - $r = 4.5\% = 0.045$ - $t = 8$ 4. **Calculate:** $$ P = 16000 \times (1 + 0.045)^8 = 16000 \times (1.045)^8 $$ 5. **Evaluate the power:** $$ (1.045)^8 \approx 1.41158 $$ 6. **Multiply:** $$ P = 16000 \times 1.41158 = 22585.28 $$ 7. **Round to nearest whole number:** $$ P \approx 22585 $$ **Final answer:** The population after 8 years will be approximately **22585**.