Answer:
After 3 hours, the snowfall of the towns will be equal.
In 7 months, the population of the towns will be equal.
Explanation:
Lets start with what we know. The first town starts at 5 inches of snow, and it increases by 6 inches every hour. The second starts at 17 inches and it increases by 2 inches every hour. Now we have two equations.
a (inches of snow in 1st town) = 5 + 6h (hours)
b (inches of snow in 2nd town) = 17 + 2h
Now we just find the h that makes a and b equal.
After 1 hour, a = 11 and b = 19. After 2, a = 17 and b = 21. And after 3, a and b both equal 23.
For the second problem, it's more of the same. The first town has an initial population of 43,425. If we add the people who move out and in each month, a net 75 move in every month. The second town has a population of 45,000. 150 people move out every month. This means our two equations are:
c (population of 1st town) = 43,425 + 75m (months)
d (population of 2nd town) = 45,000 - 150m
Plugging in months gives us 7 months as the point when the population of the towns will be equal.