Question

complete the table.
principal\tinterest rate\ttime\tsimple interest
$18,000\t□%\t54 months\t$4252.50

Explanation:

Step1: Convert time to years

$54 \text{ months} = \frac{54}{12} = 4.5 \text{ years}$

Step2: Recall simple interest formula

$I = P \times r \times t$
Rearrange to solve for $r$: $r = \frac{I}{P \times t}$

Step3: Substitute values into formula

$r = \frac{4252.50}{18000 \times 4.5}$

Step4: Calculate the rate

$r = \frac{4252.50}{81000} = 0.052 = 5.2\%$

Answer:

5.2%