Final answer:
To determine how much needs to be invested at a 5% annual interest rate compounded monthly for 33 months to reach a maturity value of $6,800, we use the compound interest formula to calculate the present value.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves finding the initial investment amount (PV for Present Value) that must be made at a 5% annual interest rate compounded monthly to achieve a future value (FV) of $6,800 after 33 months. We use the compound interest formula FV = PV * (1 + r/n)^(nt), where:
- FV is the future value,
- PV is the present value (the initial investment we want to calculate),
- r is the annual interest rate (decimal),
- n is the number of times interest is compounded per year,
- t is the time the money is invested for in years.
In this case, r is 0.05 (5%), n is 12 (as interest is compounded monthly), and t is 33/12 years (since 33 months is 33/12 years).
Substituting the known values into the formula and solving for PV, we calculate the initial investment required to reach the $6,800 after 33 months.