A city's population is modeled by P(t) = 24,000(0.92)^t, where t is the number of years after 2020. According to this model, by what…

In an exponential model $P(t) = P_0(b)^t$, the base $b$ is the yearly growth factor. Here $b = 0.92$, and $0.92 = 1 - 0.08$, so each year the population keeps 92% of its previous size and loses 8%. The answer is C. Choice A (92%) is the percent that remains, not the percent lost. Choice B (0.92%) misreads the decimal as a percent. Choice D (12%) has no connection to the model; it might come from assuming the decrease is $1 - 0.88$. The base must be subtracted from 1 and then converted to a percent.