Question

Hey guys how do you solve 1-(1+.08)^-5 I need to know the steps because I know the answer is 0.319 but I cant seem to get it right, please help

Answer 1

PEMDAS=
{Parentheses,
Exponents,
Multiply,
Divide,
Add,
Subtract}

1-(1+.08)^-5

So parentheses comes first (1+.08)=1.08

Exponents come next. Negative exponents means it is getting smaller and smaller instead of bigger. (Just put a 1 and divide it by the number to the exponent)

Example: 2^-2 = 1/(2^2) = 1/4
Example2: 3^-4 = 1/(3^4) = 1/81
I'm not good at explaining so those examples are there to explain for me.

Anyways, exponents come next, so you'd take 1.08 (because the exponent is over the parentheses) and would make it like this:

1/(1.08^5)

I don't know what 1.08^5 is, so according to my calculator.. it is 1.4693280768

So 1/1.4693280768

Next is multiplication.
There is no multiplication.

Next is division.
Plug 1/1.4693280768 into your calculator.
You'll get 0.680583197033753

Next is addition.
There is no addition.

Next is subtraction.
1-0.680583197033753=0.319416802966247

You can round that to 0.319 or 0.32
That's how you get your answer