Final answer:
To accumulate $10,000 in four years at 4% compounded quarterly, you would need to deposit approximately $776.71 at the end of each quarter.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the deposit needed to accumulate a specific amount in a certain time period, we can use the formula for compound interest:
A = P(1 + r/n)nt
Where:
- A is the future value ($10,000)
- P is the deposit amount we want to find
- r is the annual interest rate (4% or 0.04)
- n is the number of times interest is compounded per year (quarterly, so 4)
- t is the number of years (4)
Plugging in the values, we get:
$10,000 = P(1 + 0.04/4)4*4
Simplifying,
$10,000 = P(1 + 0.01)16
Next, we isolate the deposit amount P by dividing both sides by (1 + 0.01)16:
P = $10,000 / (1 + 0.01)16
Calculating this, we find that the deposit needed at the end of each quarter is approximately $776.71.