The population of Grand Island, Nebraska, grew by 600,000 people between 1995 and 2005, one-fifth more than the town council predicted. The town originally predicted the city's population to grow by?

• A. 400,000
• B. 500,000
• C. 300,000
• D. 100,000

Answer: (B)

To determine the originally predicted population growth for Grand Island, Nebraska, we can set up the relationship given in the question. The population grew by 600,000 people, which was described as one-fifth more than what the town council initially predicted.

Let’s denote the originally predicted growth as ( P ). According to the problem, the actual growth of 600,000 can be related to ( P ) by the equation:

[

600,000 = P + \frac{1}{5}P

]

This can be rewritten as:

[

600,000 = P \left(1 + \frac{1}{5}\right) = P \times \frac{6}{5}

]

To find ( P ), we can rearrange the equation:

[

P = 600,000 \times \frac{5}{6}

]

Calculating this gives:

[

P = 600,000 \times \frac{5}{6} = 500,000

]

This indicates that the town originally predicted the population growth to be 500,000. The answer is based on the original prediction and the additional growth that exceeded expectations. Thus, the correct answer accurately reflects the calculation