John invests £8000 at compound interest rate of 1.5% per year. He wants to earn more than £2000 in interest. What is the LEAST time in WHOLE years that this will take?

Step 1) Create the formula: 8000 x 1.015nStep 2) Equate to the target value: 8000 x 1.015n = 2000 10000 (Common mistake is to use target of £2000 but you must also take into account the £8000 that is already in the account as this is what will determine the amount of interest John gets per year)Step 3) Re-arrange to get value with 'n' by itself: 1.015n = 5/4Step 4) Use logs to find an exact value for n: Log1.015(1.015n) = Log1.015(5/4) => (Logs in first part of equation cancel) n = 14.988LEAST amount of WHOLE years = 15 (Always round up as if we rounded down the interest earned would be <£2000)

HH
Answered by Hamza H. Maths tutor

3554 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

3x + 2y = 6, 5x+3y=11, solve for x and y.


Sean drives from Manchester to Gretna Green. He drives at an average speed of 50 mph for the first three hours. He then breaks and drives the final 150 miles at 30 mph. Sean thinks his average speed is 40 mph ,is he correct?


Make x the subject of the formula 3(2x – y) = ax – 4


Find the roots of the following curve: y = 6x^2 - 4x.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning