Problem
Choose the best answer to the following question. Explain your reasoning with one or more complete sentences. A town's population increases in one year from 50,000 to 60,000 . If the population is growing linearly, at a steady rate, then what will the population be at the end of a second year? Select the correct choice below and, if necessary, fill in the answer box to complete your choice. A. The population will be 70,000 because the population increases by $\square$ each year. (Type a whole number.) B. The population will be 70,000 because the population increases by a factor of $\square$ each year. (Type a whole number) C. The population will be 72,000 because the population increases by $\square$ each year. (Type a whole number) D. The population will be 72,000 because the population increases by a factor of $\square$ each year. (Type a whole number) E. The population will be 60,000 because the population holds steady after the first year
Solution
Step 1 ：The question states that the population is growing linearly, at a steady rate. This means that the increase in population is constant every year. From the first year, we can see that the population increased by 10,000 (60,000 - 50,000).
Step 2 ：If the population continues to increase at this rate, then the population at the end of the second year would be 60,000 (population at the end of the first year) + 10,000 (increase per year) = 70,000.
Step 3 ：\(\boxed{\text{The correct choice is A. The population will be 70,000 because the population increases by 10,000 each year.}}\)
