Final answer:
By calculating the simple interest for both scenarios, it's determined that the 3-year investment at a 1.25% interest rate earns more interest ($187.50) compared to the 2-year investment at a 1.75% interest rate ($175).
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine which investment earns more interest, we must calculate the amount of interest earned in each scenario. The formula for simple interest is I = Prt, where I stands for interest, P is the principal amount, r is the annual interest rate, and t is the time in years.
For the 2-year investment at 1.75%, we calculate the interest as follows:
I = $5,000 × 0.0175 × 2 = $175
For the 3-year investment at 1.25%, we calculate the interest as follows:
I = $5,000 × 0.0125 × 3 = $187.50
The 3-year investment at 1.25% interest earns more than the 2-year investment at 1.75% interest rate.