Answer:
The population of both Midwest and West will be equal after 11 years and 8 months.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is provided that in 1990 the population of Midwest was 60 million and that of West was 53 million.
The average increase in population of Midwest areas is 0.4 million/year and in case of west areas it is 1 million/year.
The expression representing the population of Midwest in x years is:
[tex]P_{M}=60 + 0.40x[/tex]
The expression representing the population of West in x years is:
[tex]P_{W}=53 + 1.00x[/tex]
Compute the value of x such that the population of both Midwest and West are same as follows:
[tex]P_{M}=P_{W}\\60+0.40x=53+1.00x\\1.00x - 0.40x=60-53\\0.60x=7\\x=\frac{7}{0.60}\\x=11\frac{2}{3}[/tex]
So after [tex]11\frac{2}{3}[/tex] years or 11 years and 8 months the population of both Midwest and West will be equal.