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Math question that i am having problems with?

Mr. Wilson invested money in two accounts. His total investment was $17,000. If one account pays 8% in interest and the other pays 12% in interest, how much does he have in each account if he earned a total of $1,600 in interest in 1 year?

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  • 8 years ago
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    This is a system of equations problem, along with interest rates.

    The general formula for interest earned over a period of time is:

    interest = principle * rate * time

    "One account pays 8%"

    0.08x

    rate = 8%

    principle = x

    time = 1

    "The other pays 12%"

    0.12y

    rate = 12%

    principle = y

    time = 1

    "Total interest of $1600 in 1 year"

    0.08x + 0.12y = 1600

    interest = 1600

    Now, the second half.

    "His total investment was $17000"

    x + y = 17000

    Because, we know that the sum of both accounts was 17000, but we don't know how this total was distributed between account X and account Y.

    We now have:

    0.08x + 0.12y = 1600

    x + y = 17000

    Using your favorite system of equation solver method (mine is just graphing them), we get:

    x = 11000

    y = 6000

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