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The populations of two towns are changing at steady rates. One town has a population of 25,500. Its population is increasing by 2000 people each Year. The other town has a population of 47,900. Its population is decreasing by 800 people each year. If the rates for each town remain the same, in how many years will the populations be the same?

WRITE EQUATION AND ANWSER!!

1 Answer

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Final answer:

It will take 8 years for the populations of the two towns to be the same.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we'll set up an equation to find the number of years it takes for the populations of the two towns to be the same. Let x represent the number of years.

For the first town, the population can be represented by the equation P = 25,500 + 2000x, where P is the population.

For the second town, the population can be represented by the equation P = 47,900 - 800x.

Setting the two population equations equal to each other, we have:

25,500 + 2000x = 47,900 - 800x

Combining like terms, we get:

2800x = 22,400

Dividing both sides by 2800, we find:

x = 8

Therefore, it will take 8 years for the populations of the two towns to be the same.

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