Hi I can't remember how to figure this out. Can you give me an idea?

In 1970, the minimum wage was $1.60 per hour. In 2000, the minimum wage was $5.15 per hour. When will the minimum wage be $7.50 per hour?

Are you assuming that the wage is increasing according to a linear function?

if so,
then you can treat your data as two ordered pairs
(1970,1.60) and (2000,5.15)
slope = (5.15-1.6)/(2000-1970) = 3.55/30 = 71/600 or .11833333..
using y = mt + b and the point (2000,5.15)
5.15 = (71/600)2000 + b
b = -103/20

so y = (71/600)t - 13891/60

check: if t=1970
y = (71/600)(1970) - 13891/60 = 1.6, check!

so now we want y = 7.5
7.5 = (71/600)t - 13891/60
t = 2019.8

so it will take to 2020, WoW!!!

To figure out when the minimum wage will be $7.50 per hour, we need to determine the rate at which the minimum wage is increasing.

First, let's find the increase in minimum wage per year from 1970 to 2000. We can subtract the minimum wage in 1970 from the minimum wage in 2000:

2000 minimum wage - 1970 minimum wage = $5.15 - $1.60 = $3.55

Next, we need to find the number of years it took for the minimum wage to increase by $3.55. We can divide the increase in minimum wage ($3.55) by the number of years between 1970 and 2000 (30 years) to find the annual increase:

$3.55 / 30 years = $0.1183 per year

Now that we know the minimum wage increased by approximately $0.1183 per year, we can use this rate to calculate when the minimum wage will reach $7.50 per hour. We'll use the formula:

(years) × (increase per year) + initial minimum wage = final minimum wage

Let x represent the number of years we are trying to find. Plugging in the values we know:

x years × $0.1183 increase per year + $1.60 initial minimum wage = $7.50 final minimum wage

We rearrange the formula to solve for x:

x = ($7.50 - $1.60) / $0.1183

Using a calculator, we can calculate:

x ≈ 46.79

Rounding up, it will take approximately 47 years for the minimum wage to reach $7.50 per hour from 1970. Therefore, the minimum wage will reach $7.50 per hour around the year 2017 (1970 + 47 years).