Suppose that $3,500 is placed in an account that pays 3% interest compounded each year assume that no withdrawals are made from the account find the amount in the account at the end of 2 years

1 answer

To find the amount in the account at the end of 2 years, we can use the formula for compound interest:

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

Where:
$A$ represents the final amount in the account,
$P$ represents the principal (initial amount), which is $3,500,
$r$ represents the annual interest rate (as a decimal), which is 3% or 0.03,
$n$ represents the number of times interest is compounded per year, which is 1 (compounded annually),
and $t$ represents the number of years, which is 2.

Plugging in the given values, we have:

\[A = 3500 \left(1 + \frac{0.03}{1}\right)^{1 \cdot 2}\]

Simplifying,

\[A = 3500 \left(1 + 0.03\right)^2\]

Evaluating the expression inside the parentheses first,
\[A = 3500 \times 1.03^2\]

Calculating $1.03^2$,
\[A = 3500 \times 1.0609\]

Multiplying,
\[A \approx 3703.15\]

Therefore, the amount in the account at the end of 2 years is approximately $\boxed{\$3703.15}$.