Abank account has a beginning of 560.00. after 6 months, the balance in the account has increased to 572.60. what interest rate is being earned annually on this account?

This is tricky because we are given the interest rate for the year but the problem is figureing the interest for 6 months or 1/2 year. We will have to double the difference before solving for the yearly interest.

572.60 - 560.00 = 12.60 interest added for 6 months x 2 = 25.20 for 12 months

(This problem assumes the interest will stay the same the next 6 months)

We need to find what percent 25.20 is to our original balance.

25.20/560 = x / 100

2520 = 560x

x = 4.5 percent interest

Check .045 x 560.00 = 25.20 interest in one year (or 12.60 in 6 months)

2 is the final ! : )