document.write( "Question 174550This question is from textbook algebra 1
\n" ); document.write( ": My son and I have been trying to solve question 37 on page 380. I believe we need to establish a rate of change for both countries and then use substitution to solve. The problem I'm having is coming up with the two slopes.
\n" ); document.write( "Here is the question: In 2000, approximatly 40.3 million tourists visited south america and the caribbean. The number of tourists to that area had been increasing at an average rate of .8 million tourists per year. In the same year, 17 million tourists visited the middle east. The number of tourists to the middle east had been increasing at an average rate of 1.8 million tourists per year. If the trend continues, when would you expect the number of tourists to South America and the caribbean to equal the number of tourists to the middle east? \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #129560 by josmiceli(19441) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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The 2 trends, South American-Caribbean tourists and middle East tourists
\n" ); document.write( "should be plotted as straight lines with number of tourists on the
\n" ); document.write( "y-axis and years on the x-axis.
\n" ); document.write( "The key to the problem is you have the slope (rate of change)
\n" ); document.write( "and a point given for each type of tourist. The slope
\n" ); document.write( "and a point actually define a line, so you can plot both lines
\n" ); document.write( "and see where they meet.
\n" ); document.write( "Data for the year 2000 is given, so I'll call $\"x=0\"$ the year
\n" ); document.write( "2000.
\n" ); document.write( "In millions of tourists, $\"y=40.3\"$ and $\"x=0\"$ for S.American
\n" ); document.write( "tourists. The slope in millions is $\".8\"$ per year
\n" ); document.write( "The point-slope formula is:
\n" ); document.write( " $\"%28y+-+y%5B1%5D%29%2F%28x+-+x%5B1%5D%29+=+m\"$ where $\"m\"$ is slope
\n" ); document.write( " $\"%28y+-+40.3%29%2F%28x+-+0%29+=+.8\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+-+40.3+=+.8x\"$
\n" ); document.write( "(1) $\"y+=+.8x+%2B+40.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( "---------------------------
\n" ); document.write( "And for the Middle East tourists
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+-+17%29%2F%28x+-+0%29+=+1.8\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+-+17+=+1.8x\"$
\n" ); document.write( "(2) $\"y+=+1.8x+%2B+17\"$
\n" ); document.write( "Solve for $\"x\"$ and $\"y\"$ to find where the lines meet
\n" ); document.write( "Subtract (1) from (2)
\n" ); document.write( " $\"0+=+x+-+23.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"x+=+23.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( "Now find $\"y\"$
\n" ); document.write( "(1) $\"y+=+.8x+%2B+40.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+=+.8%2A23.3+%2B+40.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+=+18.64+%2B+40.3\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"y+=+58.94\"$
\n" ); document.write( "This says that if the trends continue, the tourists to
\n" ); document.write( "both places will be equal in 2023, and there would be
\n" ); document.write( "almost 59 million going to each place \n" ); document.write( "

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