The population of people in a town is modelled using the formula P=a(10bt)P = a\left(10^{bt}\right)P=a(10bt) where t t\,t is the time in years since 2001, and a a\,a and b b\,b are constants.
Explain what the value of a a\,a represents.
In 2008 the population of the town was 54 00054\,00054000, and in 2013 the population was 59 00059\,00059000. Use this data to calculate the value of a a\,a and the value of bbb, giving your answers to 3 significant figures.