Quantitative Literacy
MATH 1050--College Algebra
In Math 1050 I was required to complete two projects one on transportation costs and the other on examining mortgages. I am posting the mortgage project for reflection.
In Math 1050 I was required to complete two projects one on transportation costs and the other on examining mortgages. I am posting the mortgage project for reflection.
mortgage_project.pdf | |
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This project was about examining how home loans behave with different interest rates and times and seeing how much return there would be selling the house after a few years. This is just one of the many situations which could involve knowledge of exponential functions. Using exponential formulas to compare investments that use compounding interest is a real life application. To model compounding interest you would need to know the principal (starting ammount of money), the rate of interest, how often the principal is compounded and the time of the investment. Modeling a population following the uninhibited growth rule requires exponential formulas. To model the population growth you would need to know the initial population, the percentage rate of growth, and the length of time the population is growing exponentially. The graph of an exponential function behaves like a^x which have the points (-1,1/a),(0,1),(1,a). If the graph of a function approaches 0 as x approaches negative infinity and the function approaches infinity as x approaches infinity and it has the points which all exponential functions have it is exponential.
This project reinforced my belief that atleast a basic foundation in algebra is irreplaceable knowledge even if an individual isnt going to be a mathematicion or scientist. In this project we compared loans and saw how different payments, interests and lengths of time effected how much would be paid back. Through modeling I observed that a higher monthly payment and a higher principal payment made the total ammount paid significantly less. Without knowledge of compounding interest and how different data effected the payments and ammount paid a person would not be able to make an informed decision on which loans fit their finances. Almost everyone has to take out loans for various things, houses, cars, tuition, etc. And not having knowledge of exponential formulas like compounding interest leaves someone at a serious disadvantage.
This project reinforced my belief that atleast a basic foundation in algebra is irreplaceable knowledge even if an individual isnt going to be a mathematicion or scientist. In this project we compared loans and saw how different payments, interests and lengths of time effected how much would be paid back. Through modeling I observed that a higher monthly payment and a higher principal payment made the total ammount paid significantly less. Without knowledge of compounding interest and how different data effected the payments and ammount paid a person would not be able to make an informed decision on which loans fit their finances. Almost everyone has to take out loans for various things, houses, cars, tuition, etc. And not having knowledge of exponential formulas like compounding interest leaves someone at a serious disadvantage.