Question 604337
Plotting the data it looks linear and it looks like median male earnings do not want to change over the years. There is a bit of scatter up and down, but no obvious trend.
Median female earning show an obvious trend, slowly inching up.
 
The answer to how to find the equation depends on what has been covered in your class. You may be expected to use statistics software, or a scientific calculator if you are studying statistical methods and linear regression. (You should know how you are expected to calculate the linear regression). The linear regression calculations would give you the equations of the lines.
 
FOR ALGEBRA CLASS:
If you are studying linear equations, and there has been no mention of linear regression and statistical methods, you would be expected to eyeball the trend lines. You would draw lines that seem to fit the data and figure out the equation froom the coordinates of the pints on the ends of your line. If the line you draw for the female data seems to go through 24 at 0 years and through 33 at 35 years, you would conclude that 24 is the intercept and the slope is
{{{(33-24)/(35-0)=9/35}}} and could write
female meadian earnings = (9/35)*years+24
On the other hand, the "eyeballed" line for male earnings could be
male meadian earnings = 42 (with a slope of zero).
To find when median female earnings will meet the median male earnings, you would set yp the equation
(9/35)*years+24 = 42
and solve for "years" (maybe you would use "x" or "n" for the number of years).