To find out how much interest you earned each year, we can use the formula for simple interest:
\[ I = P \times r \times t \]
Where:
- \( I \) = total interest earned
- \( P \) = principal amount (initial deposit)
- \( r \) = annual interest rate (as a decimal)
- \( t \) = time in years
From the information given:
- Principal amount \( P = 200 \)
- Total balance after 5 years = $230
- Total interest earned \( I = 230 - 200 = 30 \)
- Time \( t = 5 \)
Now we can rearrange the simple interest formula to find the annual interest:
\[ r = \frac{I}{P \times t} \]
Substituting the values:
\[ r = \frac{30}{200 \times 5} \] \[ r = \frac{30}{1000} \] \[ r = 0.03 \]
Now we find the annual interest earned by multiplying the principal by the interest rate:
Annual interest earned = \( P \times r = 200 \times 0.03 = 6 \)
Thus, the amount earned in interest each year is:
\[ 6 \]
So the answer is:
6