Final answer:
In the expression 349(1-0.08)^t, the term (1-0.08) represents the annual depreciation rate of the wireless speaker system, which is 8%. This term is used to calculate the compounded depreciation year over year.
Step-by-step explanation:
The expression 349(1-0.08)^t represents the value of a wireless speaker system t years since the system was purchased. The part of the expression (1-0.08) signifies a depreciation rate of 8% per year. This is because 1 represents the initial full value (100%), and 0.08 represents the 8% that is subtracted from the full value each year due to depreciation. As t, the number of years, increases, the expression (1-0.08)^t calculates the remaining value of the speaker system after accounting for the compounded annual depreciation.
Each year, the value is multiplied by this factor, which effectively reduces the previous year's value by 8%. After one year, for an 8% depreciation, the speaker's value would be 92% of its initial value. This is reflected in the expression by (1 - 0.08) = 0.92. When raised to the power of t, this factor compounds the depreciation over multiple years. This is a typical calculation in the context of exponential decay, which is commonly used to model depreciation, population decline, radioactive decay, and other phenomena in various fields.