Question

Many bank accounts never go below zero. But some banks will allow a negative balance, at least for a short time, called an overdraft. It means someone has taken out, or 'drafted', more money than was in the account to begin with. Jack's account went into overdraft. To get back to a positive balance, he deposited money at a steady rate of $24.98 per week. After 6 weeks, he had $125.85 in the account. What was the balance when the account went into overdraft?

Answer 1

To find the balance when Jack's account went into overdraft, we first need to calculate the total amount he deposited over the 6 weeks, and then use that information to determine the initial balance before the overdraft.

1. Calculate the total amount deposited after 6 weeks:
\[
\text{Total deposits} = \text{Weekly deposit} \times \text{Number of weeks} = 24.98 \times 6
\]
\[
\text{Total deposits} = 149.88
\]

2. We know that after 6 weeks, Jack's account balance is $125.85. This means that the balance before the deposits were added can be calculated by subtracting the total deposits from the final balance:
\[
\text{Balance before deposits} = \text{Final balance} - \text{Total deposits}
\]
\[
\text{Balance before deposits} = 125.85 - 149.88
\]
\[
\text{Balance before deposits} = -24.03
\]

Thus, the balance when Jack's account went into overdraft was \(\boxed{-24.03}\).