Two towns have populations that are changing at constant rates per year. Springfield has a population that is growing. In 2013, its population was 5,750 and in 2017 its population was 6,206. Decatur, on the other hand, has a population that is decreasing. In 2014, Decatur’s population was 8,232 and in 2019 its population had decreased to 7,877.
Based on this information, we would like to predict the first year in which Springfield will have a larger population than Decatur. To do this, we will create linear models for both populations based on the number of years since 2010
Write linear equations that model the population for both towns in the form p  mt  b , where t is the number of years since 2010. Show the work that leads to both of your models.