The Rule of 72 is a simple way to estimate the number of years required to double the invested money at a given annual rate of interest. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of interest, you get an approximate number of years it will take for the initial investment to grow to twice its amount.
Here, you're asked to apply the Rule of 72 to the GDP of the Apex Federation, which is growing at a rate of 1.9% per year.
Let's perform the calculation:
Years to double = 72 / Annual growth rate
Years to double = 72 / 1.9
Now, let's compute this:
Years to double ≈ 37.89
In terms of selecting the closest answer, it would be B. 38 years, since 37.89 rounded to the nearest whole number is 38.
Thus, according to the Rule of 72, the economy of the Apex Federation will double in approximately 38 years.
