If population first grows by 22 percent and then declines by 18 percent, what is the approximate final change relative to the initial population?

Correct answer: 0.04 percent increase

The correct answer is A: a 0.04 percent increase. Let the initial population be 100. After a 22 percent increase, it becomes 122. The subsequent 18 percent decline is taken from 122, not from 100. Eighteen percent of 122 is 21.96, so the final population is 122 − 21.96 = 100.04. This is 0.04 above the starting value of 100, giving a 0.04 percent increase. Option A is correct. Option B has the wrong direction because the final amount is slightly above the original. Option C incorrectly treats the result as 4 percent by subtracting 18 from 22; that ignores the changed base. Option D has both the wrong direction and the wrong magnitude. The same result can be checked with multipliers: 1.22 × 0.82 = 1.0004, which is 100.04 percent of the initial amount. Memory cue: equal-looking increases and decreases do not cancel unless they are calculated on the same base.