187k views
1 vote
How much money needs to be deposited in an account to obtain $3400 in 6 years if the interest rate is 5% per year compounded continuously?

A. $2500
B. $3000
C. $3200
D. $2800

User Nikolovski
by
7.8k points

1 Answer

7 votes

Final answer:

To calculate the principal P needed to grow to $3400 in 6 years with continuous compounding at a 5% rate, the formula A = Pert is used. After solving, the initial deposit needed is approximately $2519, which is not included among the provided answer choices, indicating a potential error in the question or answer options.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how much money needs to be deposited to obtain $3400 in 6 years with an interest rate of 5% per year compounded continuously, we use the continuous compounding formula:

A = Pert

Where:
A is the amount of money accumulated after n years, including interest.
P is the principal amount (the initial amount of money).
r is the annual interest rate (decimal).
t is the time in years.
e is the base of the natural logarithm (approximately equal to 2.71828).

We have A = $3400, r = 5% or 0.05, and t = 6 years. We need to solve for P:

$3400 = P * e(0.05 * 6)

First, calculate e(0.05 * 6):

e(0.05 * 6) = e0.3 ≈ 1.34986

Now divide both sides by 1.34986 to solve for P:

P = $3400 / 1.34986 ≈ $2518.76

Since the question provides options, the closest option to $2518.76 is B. $3000, which is incorrect. Therefore, the original question may potentially have a mistake, or the provided options may not include the correct answer. The actual deposit needed can be rounded to approximately $2519.

User Ivan Longin
by
7.4k points