Sam bought a motorcycle and it depreciates each year f(x) = 14000(1-0.09)^x

When will the motorcycle be worth $7000

1 answer

To find out when the motorcycle will be worth $7000, we need to solve the equation:

\[ f(x) = 14000(1 - 0.09)^x = 7000 \]

First, let's set the equation:

\[ 14000(1 - 0.09)^x = 7000 \]

Now, divide both sides by 14000:

\[ (1 - 0.09)^x = \frac{7000}{14000} \]

This simplifies to:

\[ (1 - 0.09)^x = 0.5 \]

Now, calculate \(1 - 0.09\):

\[ 1 - 0.09 = 0.91 \]

So, we have:

\[ 0.91^x = 0.5 \]

To solve for \(x\), we can take the logarithm of both sides:

\[ \log(0.91^x) = \log(0.5) \]

Using the power rule of logarithms:

\[ x \cdot \log(0.91) = \log(0.5) \]

Now, isolate \(x\):

\[ x = \frac{\log(0.5)}{\log(0.91)} \]

Now, calculate the values:

Using a calculator, we find:

\[ \log(0.5) \approx -0.3010 \] \[ \log(0.91) \approx -0.0436 \]

Now, substitute these values into the equation:

\[ x \approx \frac{-0.3010}{-0.0436} \approx 6.90 \]

Therefore, \(x\) is approximately 6.90. Since \(x\) represents the number of years, it means that the motorcycle will be worth $7000 after about 7 years.