Final answer:
To find the balance of Maria's investment after 20 years with compound interest, the compound interest formula is applied using the given annual interest rate of 8% compounded 6 times per year. The correct calculation will match one of the options provided.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks to determine the future value of an investment with compound interest. Specifically, Maria invests $5,052 at an 8% annual interest rate compounded 6 times per year, and we need to find the account balance after 20 years.
To calculate this, we use the compound interest formula:
A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt)
where A is the amount of money accumulated after n years, including interest, P is the principal amount, r is the annual interest rate (decimal), n is the number of times that interest is compounded per year, and t is the time the money is invested for in years.
Now let's plug in the values:
A = 5052(1 + 0.08/6)^(6*20)
Calculating the expression above, we find the final amount which should match one of the multiple-choice answers given.