Trina has a credit card that uses the adjusted balance method. For the first 10 days of one of her 30-day billing cycles, her balance was \[tex]$780. She then made a purchase for \$[/tex]170, so her balance jumped to \[tex]$950, and it remained that amount for the next 10 days. Trina then made a payment of \$[/tex]210, so her balance for the last 10 days of the billing cycle was \$740. If her credit card's APR is 17%, which of these expressions could be used to calculate the amount Trina was charged in interest for the billing cycle?

A. [tex]\[\left(\frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30\right)\left(\frac{10 \cdot 780 + 10 \cdot 950 + 10 \cdot 740}{30}\right)\][/tex]

B. [tex]\[\left(\frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30\right)(3570)\][/tex]

C. [tex]\[\left(\frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30\right)\left(\frac{10 \cdot 780 + 10 \cdot 950 + 10 \cdot 210}{30}\right)\][/tex]

D. [tex]\[\left(\frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30\right)(5780)\][/tex]



Answer :

Certainly! Let's break down this problem step-by-step.

### Step 1: Understand the Balances and Days

Trina's balance changes occur as follows:
1. For the first 10 days, her balance was \$780.
2. After making a purchase of \[tex]$170, her balance becomes \$[/tex]950 for the next 10 days.
3. After making a payment of \[tex]$210, her balance for the last 10 days was \$[/tex]740.

### Step 2: Calculate the Average Daily Balance

To calculate the average daily balance, we'll use the formula:
[tex]\[ \text{Average Daily Balance} = \frac{\sum (\text{Balance on each day})}{\text{Number of days}} \][/tex]

Given the balance details:
- First 10 days: \$780
- Next 10 days: \$950
- Last 10 days: \$740

We calculate the total balance over the 30 days as follows:
[tex]\[ \text{Total Balance} = (10 \times 780) + (10 \times 950) + (10 \times 740) \][/tex]

Now compute the average daily balance:
[tex]\[ \text{Average Daily Balance} = \frac{(10 \times 780) + (10 \times 950) + (10 \times 740)}{30} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = \frac{7800 + 9500 + 7400}{30} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = \frac{24700}{30} \][/tex]

The average daily balance is:
[tex]\[ = 823.3333333333334 \][/tex]

### Step 3: Calculate the Daily Interest Rate

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 17%, and we need to find the daily interest rate:
[tex]\[ \text{Daily Interest Rate} = \frac{APR}{365} = \frac{0.17}{365} \][/tex]

The daily interest rate is:
[tex]\[ = 0.0004657534246575343 \][/tex]

### Step 4: Calculate the Interest Charged for the Billing Cycle

Using the average daily balance and the daily interest rate, we can calculate the interest for the 30-day cycle:
[tex]\[ \text{Interest} = (\text{Daily Interest Rate}) \times (\text{Number of days in billing cycle}) \times (\text{Average Daily Balance}) \][/tex]

[tex]\[ = 0.0004657534246575343 \times 30 \times 823.3333333333334 \][/tex]

The amount of interest charged is:
[tex]\[ = 11.504109589041098 \][/tex]

### Step 5: Identify the Correct Expression

We have our calculated interest amount, and we need to match it with the given options. The correct expression that matches our results is:

[tex]\[ \left( \frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30 \right) \left( \frac{10 \cdot 780 + 10 \cdot 950 + 10 \cdot 740}{30} \right) \][/tex]

This is equivalent to:
[tex]\[ \left( \frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30 \right) \left( 823.3333333333334 \right) \][/tex]

So, the correct answer is:
[tex]\[ \boxed{\left(\frac{0.17}{365} \cdot 30\right)\left(\frac{10 \cdot 780+10 \cdot 950+10 \cdot 740}{30}\right)} \][/tex]

This is the correct formula that can be used to calculate the amount of interest Trina was charged during the billing cycle.