<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

An initial investment of $100,000 at 12% interest is compounded weekly (use 52 weeks in a year). What will the investment be worth in 30 years?

about $3,644,675.88

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Using the compound interest formula to solve for the principal

A 529 Plan is a college-savings plan that allows relatives to invest money to pay for a child’s future college tuition; the account grows tax-free. Lily wants to set up a 529 account for her new granddaughter and wants the account to grow to $40,000 over 18 years. She believes the account will earn 6% compounded semi-annually (twice a year). To the nearest dollar, how much will Lily need to invest in the account now?

The nominal interest rate is 6%, so r = 0.06. Interest is compounded twice a year, so k = 2.

We want to find the initial investment, P , needed so that the value of the account will be worth $40,000 in 18 years. Substitute the given values into the compound interest formula, and solve for P .

A ( t ) = P ( 1 + r n ) n t Use the compound interest formula . 40,000 = P ( 1 + 0.06 2 ) 2 ( 18 ) Substitute using given values  A r ,   n , and  t . 40,000 = P ( 1.03 ) 36 Simplify . 40,000 ( 1.03 ) 36 = P Isolate  P . P $ 13 , 801 Divide and round to the nearest dollar .

Lily will need to invest $13,801 to have $40,000 in 18 years.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!
Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Refer to [link] . To the nearest dollar, how much would Lily need to invest if the account is compounded quarterly?

$13,693

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Evaluating functions with base e

As we saw earlier, the amount earned on an account increases as the compounding frequency increases. [link] shows that the increase from annual to semi-annual compounding is larger than the increase from monthly to daily compounding. This might lead us to ask whether this pattern will continue.

Examine the value of $1 invested at 100% interest for 1 year, compounded at various frequencies, listed in [link] .

Frequency A ( t ) = ( 1 + 1 n ) n Value
Annually ( 1 + 1 1 ) 1 $2
Semiannually ( 1 + 1 2 ) 2 $2.25
Quarterly ( 1 + 1 4 ) 4 $2.441406
Monthly ( 1 + 1 12 ) 12 $2.613035
Daily ( 1 + 1 365 ) 365 $2.714567
Hourly ( 1 + 1 8766 ) 8766 $2.718127
Once per minute ( 1 + 1 525960 ) 525960 $2.718279
Once per second ( 1 + 1 31557600 ) 31557600 $2.718282

These values appear to be approaching a limit as n increases without bound. In fact, as n gets larger and larger, the expression ( 1 + 1 n ) n approaches a number used so frequently in mathematics that it has its own name: the letter e . This value is an irrational number, which means that its decimal expansion goes on forever without repeating. Its approximation to six decimal places is shown below.

The number e

The letter e represents the irrational number

( 1 + 1 n ) n , as n increases without bound

The letter e is used as a base for many real-world exponential models. To work with base e , we use the approximation, e 2.718282. The constant was named by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) who first investigated and discovered many of its properties.

Using a calculator to find powers of e

Calculate e 3.14 . Round to five decimal places.

On a calculator, press the button labeled [ e x ] . The window shows [ e ^ (   ] . Type 3.14 and then close parenthesis, [ ) ] . Press [ENTER]. Rounding to 5 decimal places, e 3.14 23.10387. Caution: Many scientific calculators have an “Exp” button, which is used to enter numbers in scientific notation. It is not used to find powers of e .

Got questions? Get instant answers now!
Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Questions & Answers

Why is b in the answer
Dahsolar Reply
how do you work it out?
Brad Reply
answer
Ernest
heheheehe
Nitin
(Pcos∅+qsin∅)/(pcos∅-psin∅)
John Reply
how to do that?
Rosemary Reply
what is it about?
Amoah
how to answer the activity
Chabelita Reply
how to solve the activity
Chabelita
solve for X,,4^X-6(2^)-16=0
Alieu Reply
x4xminus 2
Lominate
sobhan Singh jina uniwarcity tignomatry ka long answers tile questions
harish Reply
t he silly nut company makes two mixtures of nuts: mixture a and mixture b. a pound of mixture a contains 12 oz of peanuts, 3 oz of almonds and 1 oz of cashews and sells for $4. a pound of mixture b contains 12 oz of peanuts, 2 oz of almonds and 2 oz of cashews and sells for $5. the company has 1080
ZAHRO Reply
If  , , are the roots of the equation 3 2 0, x px qx r     Find the value of 1  .
Swetha Reply
Parts of a pole were painted red, blue and yellow. 3/5 of the pole was red and 7/8 was painted blue. What part was painted yellow?
Patrick Reply
Parts of the pole was painted red, blue and yellow. 3 /5 of the pole was red and 7 /8 was painted blue. What part was painted yellow?
Patrick
how I can simplify algebraic expressions
Katleho Reply
Lairene and Mae are joking that their combined ages equal Sam’s age. If Lairene is twice Mae’s age and Sam is 69 yrs old, what are Lairene’s and Mae’s ages?
Mary Reply
23yrs
Yeboah
lairenea's age is 23yrs
ACKA
hy
Katleho
Ello everyone
Katleho
Laurene is 46 yrs and Mae is 23 is
Solomon
hey people
christopher
age does not matter
christopher
solve for X, 4^x-6(2*)-16=0
Alieu
prove`x^3-3x-2cosA=0 (-π<A<=π
Mayank Reply
create a lesson plan about this lesson
Rose Reply
Excusme but what are you wrot?
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply
Practice Key Terms 4

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Precalculus. OpenStax CNX. Jan 19, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11667/1.6
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Precalculus' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask