Simple interest I is jointly proportional to the product of time in years and the principal, therefore; mathematically;
I α Pt
introducing a constant;
I = kPt; but I = $ 86, P = $ 3970, while t = 11/12 years
Thus; k = I/Pt
= 86/ 3970(11/12)
= 0.0236
Therefore, the constant of the variation is ≈ 0.024