“Joe opened a savings account with $500. He saves an additional $25 per month. How many months must he save to reach $5,000 in his savings account?”

Question

“Joe opened a savings account with $500. He saves an additional $25 per month. How many months must he save to reach $5,000 in his savings account?”

Answer 1

5000 = 25m + 500 (We get $5000 after a number of months adding $25 and a starting point of $500)

 

What we need to do is isolate m. Start by subtracting 500 to both sides:

5000 - 500 = 25m + 500 - 500

4500 = 25m

 

Now we divide by 25:

4500 / 25 = 25m / 25

180 = m

 

So it will take 180 months.