Herman invests $6,400

at 5.5
% interest for 7
years compounded quarterly. Find the amount of money in the account after 7
years.

1 answer

To calculate the amount of money in an account after 7 years with compounded interest, you can use the formula for compound interest:

\[ A = P \left(1 + \frac{r}{n}\right)^{nt} \]

Where:

  • \( A \) is the amount of money accumulated after n years, including interest.
  • \( P \) is the principal amount (the initial amount of money).
  • \( r \) is the annual interest rate (decimal).
  • \( n \) is the number of times that interest is compounded per year.
  • \( t \) is the number of years the money is invested or borrowed for.

Given:

  • \( P = 6400 \)
  • \( r = 5.5% = 0.055 \)
  • \( n = 4 \) (because the interest is compounded quarterly)
  • \( t = 7 \)

Plugging in the values:

\[ A = 6400 \left(1 + \frac{0.055}{4}\right)^{4 \times 7} \] \[ A = 6400 \left(1 + \frac{0.055}{4}\right)^{28} \] \[ A = 6400 \left(1 + 0.01375\right)^{28} \] \[ A = 6400 \left(1.01375\right)^{28} \]

Now, calculate \( \left(1.01375\right)^{28} \):

\[ 1.01375^{28} \approx 1.433579 \]

Now substitute it back into the formula:

\[ A = 6400 \times 1.433579 \approx 9176.50 \]

Thus, the amount of money in the account after 7 years is approximately $9,176.50.