1. A retirement account is opened with an initial deposit of $8,500 and earns 8.

12% interest
compounded monthly. What will the account be worth in 20 years? What if the deposit were
compounded monthly with simple interest? Could you see the situation in a graph? From what point
one is better than the other?
The compound interest formula is A(t) = P(1 + r / n) ^ nt
Simple interest formula is A(t) = P(1 + r)^t

Account with compound interest Account with simple interest

A(20) = 8500 (1 + (0.0812 / 12)) ^ (12)(20) A(20) = 8500 (1 + 0.0812) ^ 20

A(20) = 8500 (1 + (0.0812 / 12)) ^ 240 A(20) = 8500 (1.0812) ^ 20

A(20) = 8500 (1 + 0.00676667) ^ 240 A(20) = 8500 (4.7656)

A(20) = 8500 (1.00676667) ^ 240 A(20) = 40,507.60

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A(20) =8500 (5.04567)

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A(20) =42,888.20

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Analysis: I should have started a savings account years ago!!!
Obviously you earn more money when it is compounded more often, as in column one, however the
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math is certainly easier when you just compound once a year . . .

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Graph: (I have scaled it by 1000 so that the divergence of lines could be seen much clearer. Instead of
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it being 8500, it is 8.5)

The blue line represents the simple interest and the green one the compound interest. You can see how
it is marginally higher after 20 years than the blue one. (See points marked for amount at x = 20)
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https://www.coursehero.com/file/48597861/algebra-5pdf/
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2. Graph the function and its reflection about the line y=x on the same axis, and
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give the x-intercept of the reflection. Prove that . [Suggestion: type {- 7

< x < 2} {0 < y < 7} in desmos, and then type its inverse function.]
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x intercept of the reflection is (5,0)

https://www.coursehero.com/file/48597861/algebra-5pdf/
 Proof that a^x = e^xlna
e^xlna = (e^lna)^x
because we know e^lna = a, we know (e^lna)^x = a^x.

3. How long will it take before twenty percent of our 1,000-gram sample of uranium-235 has decayed?
[See Section 6.6 Example 13]

The decay equation is , where t is the time for the decay, and K is the characteristic of
the material. Suppose T is the time it takes for half of the unstable material in a sample of a radioactive

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substance to decay, called its half-life. Prove that . What is T for the uranium-235? Show

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the steps of your reasoning.

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Twenty percent of the uranium has decayed in aprox. 226,572,993 years
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y = 1000e (ln(0.5) / 703,800,000) t
800 = 1000e (ln(0.5) / 703,800,000) t (after 20% decays, 800 grams are left)
0.8 = e (ln(0.5) / 703,800,000) t
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ln (0.8) = ln (e ln(0.5) / 703,800,000 t )

ln (0.8) = ln(0.5) / 703,800,000 t
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t = 703,800,000 * ln (0.8) / ln (0.5) years

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t = 226,572,993
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If the half life of uranium is 703,800,000, then T would be 2*703,800,000 = 1,407,600,000.

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Proof that K = ln0.5 / T

K = ln0.5 / 1,407,600,000
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K= 703,800,000 (which is the half life of Uranium, thus k =ln0.5 / T = True)

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References:

Abramson, J. (2017). Algebra and trigonometry. OpenStax, TX: Rice University. Retrieved
from https://openstax.org/details/books/algebra-and-trigonometry

https://www.coursehero.com/file/48597861/algebra-5pdf/

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