A certain forest covers an area of \( 4100 \mathrm{~km}^{2} \). Suppose that each year this area decreases by \( 3.5 \% \). What will the area be after 9 years? auestion th Use the calculator provided and round your answer to the nearest square kilometer. \( \mathrm{km}^{2} \)

To find the area of the forest after 9 years with an annual decrease of \( 3.5\% \), we can use the formula: \[ A = P(1 - r)^t \] where: - \( A \) is the area after \( t \) years, - \( P \) is the initial area (4100 km²), - \( r \) is the rate of decrease (0.035), - \( t \) is the number of years (9). Substituting the values, we get: \[ A = 4100(1 - 0.035)^9 \] Calculating that: \[ A = 4100(0.965)^9 \approx 4100 \times 0.753 \] \[ A \approx 3088.3 \] Rounding to the nearest square kilometer gives us: \[ A \approx 3088 \text{ km}^{2} \] So the area of the forest after 9 years will be approximately \( 3088 \text{ km}^{2} \).