A college student is looking at her monthly checking account records. On September 1, 2008, her checking account held a balance of $1,050. At the end of March 2009, her checking account held a balance of $800. What is the monthly rate of change for the student’s checking account over the period September 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009?
I count 7 months, so
rate of change per month = (800 - 1050)/7
= - $35.71
balance is declining at a rate of appr $36 per month
To find the monthly rate of change for the student's checking account over the given period, we need to calculate the total change in the balance and divide it by the number of months.
First, we need to find the total change in the balance. We subtract the September 1, 2008 balance from the March 31, 2009 balance:
Total change = March 31, 2009 balance - September 1, 2008 balance
Total change = $800 - $1,050
Total change = -$250
Next, we need to determine the number of months between September 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. Counting the months, we have:
September 2008, October 2008, November 2008, December 2008, January 2009, February 2009, March 2009.
So, the period includes 6 months.
To calculate the monthly rate of change, we divide the total change by the number of months:
Monthly rate of change = Total change / Number of months
Monthly rate of change = -$250 / 6
Monthly rate of change ≈ -$41.67
Therefore, the monthly rate of change for the student's checking account over the period September 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009, is approximately -$41.67.