To determine the town council's original prediction for the city's population growth, we can calculate one-fifth less than the actual growth of 600,000 people between 1995 and 2005. Let's denote the original predicted growth as "x." Given that the actual growth was one-fifth more than the predicted growth, we can express it as:
Actual Growth = Predicted Growth + One-Fifth of Predicted Growth
600,000 = x + (1/5)*x
To solve for x, we can simplify the equation:
600,000 = (6/5)*x
Dividing both sides by (6/5), we get:
x = (5/6)*600,000
x = 500,000
Therefore, the town council originally predicted the city's population would grow by 500,000 people.