a rule of thumb used by car dealers is that the trade in value of a car decreases by 20% of its value each year. suppose the initial value of your car is $23,500. write an equation expressing the trade in value of your car as a function of the number of years from now. if your car is really 2.7 years old now, what was its trade in value when it was new?

*Is the answer $42,926.44?

To find the trade-in value of your car as a function of the number of years from now, we can use the given rule that the value decreases by 20% each year.

Let's denote the initial value of your car as "P" (given as $23,500), and let "n" represent the number of years from now.

According to the rule of thumb, the trade-in value can be expressed as:

Trade-in value = P * (1 - r)^n

Where "r" is the rate of decrease (20% or 0.20), and "^" denotes exponentiation.

Substituting the values into the equation, we get:

Trade-in value = 23,500 * (1 - 0.20)^n

Now, to find the trade-in value when your car was new, we need to calculate the value when "n" is zero (since it represents the number of years from now).

When "n" is zero, the equation becomes:

Trade-in value = 23,500 * (1 - 0.20)^0

Since any number raised to the power of zero is 1, the equation simplifies to:

Trade-in value = 23,500 * 1

Therefore, the trade-in value of your car when it was new is $23,500.

So, the answer to the question is not $42,926.44, but rather $23,500.