If you purchase \( \$ 26,000 \) in U.S. Treasury Bills with a discount rate of \( 4.9 \% \) for a period of 26 weeks, what is the effective interest rate (as a \%)? Round to the nearest hundredth percent.
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To find the effective interest rate for U.S. Treasury Bills, we first need to calculate the purchase price using the discount rate. The formula for the purchase price (P) is: \[ P = F \times \left(1 - \left( \frac{r \times t}{360} \right)\right) \] Where: - \( F \) is the face value (which is \( \$ 26,000 \)), - \( r \) is the discount rate (which is \( 4.9\% \) or \( 0.049 \)), - \( t \) is the time in days (for 26 weeks, it's \( 26 \times 7 = 182 \) days). Substituting the values into the formula, we calculate the purchase price: \[ P = 26000 \times (1 - (0.049 \times \frac{182}{360})) \] Calculating \( 0.049 \times \frac{182}{360} \): \[ 0.049 \times 0.50556 \approx 0.0248 \text{ (approximately)} \] Thus, \[ P = 26000 \times (1 - 0.0248) = 26000 \times 0.9752 \approx 25354.40 \] Now, to find the effective interest earned over the 26 weeks, we will do: \[ \text{Interest} = F - P = 26000 - 25354.40 = 645.60 \] Next, to find the effective interest rate, we use the formula: \[ \text{Effective Interest Rate} = \left(\frac{\text{Interest}}{P}\right) \times \left(\frac{360}{t}\right) \times 100 \] Substituting: \[ \text{Effective Interest Rate} = \left(\frac{645.60}{25354.40}\right) \times \left(\frac{360}{182}\right) \times 100 \] Calculating: \[ \frac{645.60}{25354.40} \approx 0.0254, \quad \frac{360}{182} \approx 1.976 \] Hence, \[ \text{Effective Interest Rate} \approx 0.0254 \times 1.976 \times 100 \approx 5.03\% \] Rounding to the nearest hundredth percent, the effective interest rate is \( \boxed{5.03\%} \).