standard_description: Understand that rational expressions form a system analogous to the rational numbers, closed under addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by a nonzero rational expression; add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational expressions.
problem_activity: Task
When Marcus started high school, his grandmother opened a college savings account. On the first day of each school year she deposited money into the account:  \$1000 in his freshmen year, \$600 in his sophomore year, \$1100 in his junior year and \$900 in his senior year. The account earns interest of $r\%$ at the end of each year. When Marcus starts college after four years, he gets the balance of the savings account plus an extra \$500.
If $r$ is the annual interest rate of the bank account, the at the end of the year the balance in the account is multiplied by a growth factor of $x=1+r$. Find an expression for the total amount of money Marcus receives from his grandmother as a function of this annual growth factor $x.$
Suppose that altogether he receives \$4400 from his grandmother.  Use appropriate technology to find the interest rate that the bank account earned.
How much total interest did the bank account earn over the four years?
Suppose the bank account had been opened when Marcus started Kindergarten. Describe how the expression for the amount of money at the start of college would change. Give an example of what it might look like.


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