Exponential Project

Task

During this assignment, you will imagine that you are a recent college graduate. You must use your knowledge of exponential growth and decay functions to make some important financial decisions. For example, you will have to decide where you will bank and invest your money. You will also decide whether or not investing large amounts of money into a home or automobile are wise financial decisions.

Process

Part I

You just received $10,000 from a long lost uncle as a graduation gift. You must decide which financial institution and what type of account you will put it in. Your goal is to obtain as much interest as possible, because you have big plans for the future.

Steps:

(1) Visit the websites of several financial institutions to determine which bank/account offers the best interest rates. Be aware of extra fees and required minimum balances. You do NOT have to use the banks listed. These are options only. If you can find a better interest rate elsewhere, by all means, go for it!

Wells Fargo Citi Bank Bank of America

What is a CD? What is a savings account?

(2) Print the worksheet below (Choosing a Bank Worksheet). It must be turned in with your final project.

(3) Use the worksheet to record your findings for the top three saving accounts.

(4) Use the highest yielding interest rate to determine what your account will be worth in 10, 25, and 40 years.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part II

Now that you are commuting to work everyday, you are considering buying a new car. However, you are undecided if you should invest in a new car or just keep the one you have. You have heard that cars depreciate a lot, and you don't want to waste your hard earned money.

Let's do a little investigating to see if cars really do depreciate and if so, by how much.

Decide on a used automobile that you would like to purchase. Find the auto in an advertisement in the newspaper, car magazine, or internet. You must attach a copy of the advertisement to your work. The vehicle must be at least 3 years old. For it, you must:

• Determine the current price.
• Determine the original price when the car was sold new.
• What is the rate of depreciation? Write an equation that represents the model of the car’s depreciation.
• Using that model, what will the car be worth in 5 years?
• Graph the information above. You may sketch your graph using graph paper or use an online graphing program.
• When will the car be worth zero?
• Is a car an investment? Why or why not?

Print the worksheet below (Car Form- Exponential Decay). It must be turned in with your final project. Use it to record your findings.

Cars for Sale Car Max Auto Trader Kelly Blue Book

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part III

• Decide on a house that is being advertised for sale. Include a copy of the advertisement in your work.
• What is the current value of the house?
• How old is the house?
• What was the original price of the home or the price of the home when purchased years ago?
• What is the rate of appreciation? Write an equation to represent the home’s appreciation.
• Using that model, what will be the price of the home in 10 years?
• Show a graph of the information above. You may sketch your graph on graph paper, or use an online graphing program.
• When will the home triple in value? (From current value)
• Is a house an investment? Why or why not?

Hint: it may be easier to decide on a house in which you know the current owners. You can ask them what they paid when they purchased the home. Don't forget to find out what year they purchased it. Then use a site such as Zillow to determine the current price of the house.

Print the worksheet below (house_form). It must be turned in with your final project. Use it to record your findings.

Zillow RE Colorado