Part 4 of 5 The number of students enrolled at a college is 17,000 and grows \( 3 \% \) each year. Complete parts (a) through (e) a) The initial amount a is 17,000 b) The percent rate of change is \( 3 \% \), so the growth factor \( b \) is \( 1+0.03=1.03 \). c) To find the number of students enrolled after one year, you calculate 17,000 • 1.03. d) Complete the equation \( y= \) \( \square \) - \( \square \) to find the number of students enrolled after \( x \) years.

To find the number of students enrolled after \( x \) years, you can use the formula for exponential growth, which generally looks like \( y = a \cdot b^x \). Here, substitute your values for \( a \) and \( b \): \( y = 17,000 \cdot (1.03)^x \). This means that each year, the number of students will be multiplied by the growth factor \( 1.03 \). As a fun side note, exponential growth like this can lead to some surprising numbers over time! For example, after 10 years, the student body could burgeon to around 23,000! It's a great reminder of how small percentage increases can snowball into significant changes over a decade.