A Population Problem

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A Population Problem

One application of linear algebra is to the evolution of population distributions over time.

For example, consider the following data about regional population distribution in the United States.

**Figure:** Regional Population Shifts
$\begin{figure} \begin{tabular}{\vert c\vert c\vert c\vert c\vert c\vert c\vert} ... ...4. & South & 75.4 M & .3327 & 85.4 M & .3434 \\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{figure}$

If the population redistribution seen in this table were to continue, what might that mean for the future? In this problem, you'll look at a Markov chain model to explore this. First we review how such a model works:

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2002-09-16