A bank offers a CD that pays a simple interest rate of \( 4.5 \% \). How much must you put in this CD now in order to have \( \$ 5000 \) for a graduation trip in 4 years? You must put \( \$ \square \) in this CD now in order to have \( \$ 5000 \) for a graduation trip in 4 years. (Round up to the nearest cent.)

To determine how much you need to invest now in a Certificate of Deposit (CD) that offers a simple interest rate of \( 4.5\% \) to have \( \$5{,}000 \) in 4 years, you can use the formula for simple interest: \[ A = P(1 + rt) \] Where: - \( A \) is the amount of money accumulated after n years, including interest. - \( P \) is the principal amount (the initial amount of money). - \( r \) is the annual interest rate (in decimal). - \( t \) is the time the money is invested for, in years. Given: - \( A = 5000 \) - \( r = 4.5\% = 0.045 \) - \( t = 4 \) years Rearrange the formula to solve for \( P \): \[ P = \frac{A}{1 + rt} \] Plug in the values: \[ P = \frac{5000}{1 + (0.045 \times 4)} = \frac{5000}{1.18} \approx 4237.288135 \dots \] Rounding up to the nearest cent: \[ P \approx \$4{,}237.29 \] **You must put \$4,237.29 in this CD now in order to have \$5,000 for a graduation trip in 4 years.**