Ryan bought stock in a company two years ago that was worth xx dollars. During the first year that he owned the stock, it increased by 17%. During the second year the value of the stock increased by 36%. Write an expression in terms of xx that represents the value of the stock after the two years have passed.

1 answer

To find the value of the stock after two years, we can apply the percentage increases successively.

  1. After the first year: The stock increases by 17%. \[ \text{Value after year 1} = xx + 0.17 \cdot xx = xx (1 + 0.17) = xx \cdot 1.17 \]

  2. After the second year: The value increases by 36% on the new stock value after the first year. \[ \text{Value after year 2} = (xx \cdot 1.17) + 0.36 \cdot (xx \cdot 1.17) = xx \cdot 1.17 (1 + 0.36) = xx \cdot 1.17 \cdot 1.36 \]

Now, we can multiply the factors: \[ 1.17 \cdot 1.36 \]

Calculating that: \[ 1.17 \cdot 1.36 = 1.5912 \]

Thus, the expression for the value of the stock after two years is: \[ \text{Value after 2 years} = xx \cdot 1.5912 \]

So, the final expression in terms of \( xx \) is: \[ 1.5912 \cdot xx \]