Final answer:
To find the total interest accrued in the first month, calculate the monthly interest for each card separately and add them together. The first card accrues $19.51 and the second card, based on a credit score of 500, accrues $8.93, giving a total of $28.44 in interest.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the total interest accrued on two credit cards in the first month, we must first determine the interest rate applicable to the second credit card based on the given credit score, and then calculate the amount of interest that will be added to each card's balance.
For the first credit card with a balance of $3,745.00 at a 6.25% APR, the monthly interest can be calculated by dividing the APR by 12 months and multiplying the result by the balance:
Interest for card 1 = ($3,745.00 × 6.25%) / 12 = $19.51
Given the credit score of 500, the APR for the second credit card is 10.25% according to the provided APR table. The monthly interest for this card would be:
Interest for card 2 = ($1,045.00 × 10.25%) / 12 = $8.93
Adding the interest amounts for both credit cards gives us the total interest for the first month:
Total interest = $19.51 (card 1) + $8.93 (card 2) = $28.44