Answer:
After 10 years the salaries are the same.
Explanation:
In order to solve the problem, we must first use the information given to set up two different equations - one for company a and one for company b. Company a has a starting salary of $24,000 plus a yearly increase of $3,000 also written as: $3000x + $24,000.
Company b has a starting salary of $30,000 plus a yearly increase of $2,400 also written as $2400x + $30,000.
Since we want to find out how long it will be before the salaries are equal, we can set the two equations equal to each other and solve for 'x' = the number of years:
3000x + 24000 = 2400x + 30000
Combine like terms: 600x = 6000
Solve for x: x = 10 years