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A car was purchased for $19250.00 and is expected to be worth $5750.00 in 5 years. Determine the rate at which the van depreciates in value.

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Final answer:

The car depreciates at a rate of approximately 14.03% per year, calculated using the straight-line depreciation method.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the rate at which the car depreciates in value, we’ll use the formula for straight-line depreciation, which assumes that the car loses the same amount of value each year.

First, we find the total amount of depreciation by subtracting the car's value at the end of 5 years ($5750.00) from its original purchase price ($19250.00). This gives us a total depreciation of $19250.00 - $5750.00 = $13500.00 over the 5 years.

Next, we divide this total depreciation by the number of years to find the annual rate of depreciation. So, $13500.00 ÷ 5 years = $2700.00 per year.

Finally, to find the rate of depreciation as a percentage, we divide the annual depreciation by the initial value and multiply by 100. Therefore, the rate of depreciation is ($2700.00 ÷ $19250.00) × 100 = approximately 14.03% per year.

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