Suppose that under the plan of repayment one should pay off the debt in a number of equal end-of-month installments (principal and interest). this is the customary way to pay off loans on automobiles, house mortgages, etc. a friend of yours has financed $27,000 on the purchase of a new automobile, and the annual interest rate is 18% (1.5% per month). monthly payments over a 24-month loan period will be how much?

Suppose you win a small lottery and have the choice of two ways to be paid: you can accept the money in a lump sum or in a series of payments over time. if you pick the lump sum, you get $2,950 today. if you pick payments over time, you get three payments: $1,000 today, $1,000 1 year from today, and $1,000 2 years from today. 1) at an interest rate of 6% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 2) at an interest rate of 9% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 3) years after you win the lottery, a friend in another country calls to ask your advice. by wild coincidence, she has just won another lottery with the same payout schemes. she must make a quick decision about whether to collect her money under the lump sum or the payments over time. what is the best advice to give your friend? a) the lump sum is always better. b) the payments over time are always better. c) it will depend on the interest rate; advise her to get a calculator. d) none of these answers is good advice.

Dr. sperry, a biologist, is using excel to track growth rates of different populations of bacteria. she has a very complex formula in one cell. it begins with “round”. dr. sperry would like to see exactly how excel’s calculation reached the final rounded value that she sees in the cell. what could dr. sperry do to best understand how the calculation was made? try different formulas on her own until she reaches the value shown in excel click on the evaluate formula button in the formulas tab and then click “step in” select the cell and then look at the formula in the formula field of the ribbon remove “round” from the formula in order to see the actual value before rounding

Afamily wishes to save for future college expenses. which financial tool should the family invest in?