It can give you a pretty good idea of how many degrees everything is. for example if something was 13degrees, you would be able to make an estimate because you know how much one degree is.
A = P(1 + r)^n
where A is the amount after n years, P = principal( initial amount), r = annual rate as a decimal fraction and n = number of years
If interest is accumulated say monthly then it would be
A = P(1 + r/12)^12n
For quarterly replace the 12 by 4
