An investment of $500 is compounded monthly at an annual rate of 3%. What is the equation that models the value of the investment? Graph the equation both on a calculator and on graph paper.
[list=1] [*]Read the problem statement and then reread the problem, determining the known quantities. [*]Substitute the known quantities into the general form of the compound interest formula, [math]A = P(1 + \frac{r}{n})^{nt}[/math]. [*]Graph the equation using a graphing calculator. [*]Transfer your graph from the screen to graph paper. [/list] This applet is provided by Walch Education as supplemental material for their mathematics programs. Visit [url="http://www.walch.com"]www.walch.com[/url] for more information on their resources.