The makeup of various groups within the U.S. population may reshape the electorate in ways that could change political representation and policies. The following table shows U.S. Department of Labor data from 1980 and projected to 2050 for the civilian non-institutional population age 16 and older, in millions, according to those who are White non-Hispanic and others (non-White or Hispanic).

(a) With x as the number of years past 1970, use a scatter plot to determine which single function type could be used to model each set of data, and find a model for each set. Let W(x) be the function for the population of White non-Hispanic and O(x) be the function for the non-Whites or Hispanics. Report both models with 3 significant digit coefficients.

(b) If these models remain valid, use them to determine the year in which these population segments are predicted to be equal.

Year 2000 2010 2015 1980 1990 White 136.8 146.5 153.1 162.1 164.6 non-Hispanic Others 30.9 56.6 42.6 71.6 79.0 Year 2020 2030 2040 2050 White 166.3 168.8 169.7 169.4 non-Hispanic Others 104.2 86.8 123.1 143.0