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Need help with a math equation

by jkt777
4 replies
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My granddaughter just showed me this assignment that is due today a couple of hours ago. She did not know how to do it.

I thought it would be simple but I have been out of high school for more than 30 years and don't remember doing math like this.

I know there are a lot of smart people here and thought it was worth a try to ask for help. I also asked on yahoo answers but thought I would try here also since we need to have it completed in about 5 hours.

I have scanned the test and would appreciate it if someone could have a look and explain how to do it.

http://www.cowetanet.com/vids/test.jpg

She is 17 now and I think the other required information has been filled in.

As you can see this is either a 0 for being wrong or 100 if correct.

Thanks for any help, Joel
  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Hey Joel,

    Ok, funny but I dragged my old engineering calculator out of the
    desk, and it isn't working. lol. Been a long time since I've used it.

    Anyway, this isn't hard. Just need to do it in the right order. I'll
    try to explain the best I can. Break the equations into smaller ones,
    in the right order, then plug and chug.

    Need to solve Eq 1 for A.

    1. Solve the numerator first, then divide by .09 because i = .09.

    2. Take the numerator and break it down. Need to solve the
    denominator first: (1 + .09) to the 15th power for women, or
    12th power for men.

    Note: the exponent 'n' differs for men and women.

    n = 72 - 60 for men and 75 - 60 for women. Remember it's the
    average age men and women live. So for your granddaughter,
    n = 15.

    3. Then take the reciprocal of the denominator that is in the
    numerator. With me? 1 divided by (1.09) E15

    Note: E15 means the exponent is 15. 1.09 to the 15th power.

    4. Then it's 1 - the answer in 3 above.

    5. Then it's the answer to number 4 above divided by .09.

    6. Then you multiply d which is 100,000 with the answer in
    number 5 above.

    7. The answer in 6 above is A.

    Now for Equation 2:

    I think she should be able to solve Eq 2 using the same approach
    as Eq 1.

    Need to solve for d, then divide d by 12. So its:

    A times the reciprocal of what is currently on the right side "but not"
    d because you're solving for d.

    I'll try to type it out here:

    A x [i / (1 + i ) E43 - 1] = d

    A is the answer to Eq 1.

    then it's just d/12 and that's it.

    PS. It's late and I'm tired. So have your gd double check
    the steps. I was flipping back and forth between typing,
    my paper, and the jpg of the equation.

    Hope I got it right. Pretty sure it's right.
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  • Profile picture of the author jkt777
    Thanks Ken,

    Hopefully we can figure it out now. I just don't know the symbols but your explanation should help a lot. I'll update when we see if she got it right.

    Joel
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    KenThompson, that's impressive!
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Excellent work, Ken. Explained the concepts and how to get from point A to point B without giving away the answer... which is precisely how homework help should be given.

    Oh, and if anyone's wondering if his steps are right - they are. Nicely explained.
    Signature
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