Questions: Investments increase exponentially by about 15% every 2 years. If you start with a 500 investment, how much money would you have after 40 years?

Investments increase exponentially by about 15% every 2 years. If you start with a 500 investment, how much money would you have after 40 years?
Transcript text: Investments increase exponentially by about 15% every 2 years. If you start with a $500 investment, how much money would you have after 40 years?
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Solution

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Solution Steps

To solve this problem, we need to calculate the future value of an investment that grows exponentially. The formula for exponential growth is given by \( A = P(1 + r)^t \), where \( A \) is the amount of money accumulated after n years, including interest. \( P \) is the principal amount (initial investment), \( r \) is the annual growth rate, and \( t \) is the time in years. In this case, the growth rate is 15% every 2 years, so we need to adjust the rate and time accordingly.

Step 1: Define the Variables

Let \( P = 500 \) be the initial investment. The growth rate every 2 years is given as \( 15\% \), which can be expressed as \( 0.15 \).

Step 2: Calculate the Annual Growth Rate

To find the annual growth rate \( r \), we convert the biannual growth rate to an annual rate: \[ r = (1 + 0.15)^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1 \approx 0.0724 \]

Step 3: Determine the Time Period

The total time period \( t \) is given as \( 40 \) years.

Step 4: Calculate the Future Amount

Using the formula for exponential growth: \[ A = P(1 + r)^t \] Substituting the values: \[ A = 500(1 + 0.0724)^{40} \] Calculating this gives: \[ A \approx 8183.2687 \]

Final Answer

The amount of money after 40 years is approximately \\(\boxed{8183.27}\\).

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