Question

Mr. Malone is putting money in two savings accounts. Account A started with $200 and Account B started with $300. Mr. Malone deposits $15 in Account A and $10 in Account B each month. In how many months will the accounts have the same balance? What will that balance be?

A) 20 months; $500 balance
B) 15 months; $375 balance
C) 30 months; $450 balance
D) They will never have the same balance.

Answer 1

Mr. Malone's two accounts will have the same balance in 20 months, and the balance will be $500. This is determined by setting up an equation for each account's growth and finding the month when the two are equal.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mr. Malone is putting money in two savings accounts, Account A started with $200 and Account B with $300. To find out in how many months the accounts will have the same balance, we need to set up an equation. We'll denote the number of months as m. For Account A, the equation is $200 + $15m, and for Account B, it's $300 + $10m. The accounts will have the same balance when $200 + $15m = $300 + $10m.

By solving the equation:

• $200 + $15m = $300 + $10m
• $15m - $10m = $300 - $200
• $5m = $100
• m = $100 / $5
• m = 20 months

To find the balance at that time, we substitute m back into either account's equation:

• $200 + $15(20) = $200 + $300 = $500

Thus, the correct answer is 20 months with a balance of $500.