point(s) possible A particular company must pay the bank \( \$ 22,938.44 \) in interest 350 days after making a loan of \( \$ 325,580 \) to purchase hot air balloons. What was the rate of interest? Use 360 days per year. The rate of interest per year was \( \square \% \). (Round to the nearest tenth as needed.)

To find the rate of interest, we can use the formula for simple interest, which is given by: \[ I = P \times r \times t \] Where: - \( I \) is the interest paid (\$22,938.44) - \( P \) is the principal amount (\$325,580) - \( r \) is the rate of interest (in decimal form) - \( t \) is the time in years (for 350 days using a 360-day year, \( t = \frac{350}{360} \)) Now, substituting in the values we have: \[ 22,938.44 = 325,580 \times r \times \frac{350}{360} \] Now, solve for \( r \): 1. Calculate \( \frac{350}{360} \): \[ \frac{350}{360} \approx 0.9722 \] 2. Substitute this back into the equation: \[ 22,938.44 = 325,580 \times r \times 0.9722 \] 3. Simplify the equation to isolate \( r \): \[ r = \frac{22,938.44}{325,580 \times 0.9722} \] 4. Calculate \( 325,580 \times 0.9722 \): \[ 325,580 \times 0.9722 \approx 316,102.38 \] 5. Now substitute back to find \( r \): \[ r = \frac{22,938.44}{316,102.38} \approx 0.0726 \] 6. Convert \( r \) into a percentage by multiplying by 100: \[ r = 0.0726 \times 100 \approx 7.26\% \] Rounding to the nearest tenth, the rate of interest per year was \( 7.3\% \).