Over the last 40 years, the population of a city has increased by roughly 2% each year. if the population was 220,000 at the beginning of this period test image, what was the population 10 years later?

The '40 years' is not part of the question.  It's just there to prove that
'2% each year' has been the experience for the past 40 years, so it's
a good number to use for the rate of growth, past or future.

So, at any number of years 'Q' after the beginning of "this period",
the population was or will be

         Pop = (220,000) (1.02)^Q power.

(This equation is familiar from all of the bank-interest problems
the student has done in past math classes.)

In 10 years after the beginning of "this period",

         Pop = (220,000) (1.02)¹⁰ = 243,800 (or any reasonably close number)