Marcus receives an inheritance of \( \$ 9,000 \). He decides to invest this money in a 12 -year certificate of deposit (CD) that pays \( 7.0 \% \) interest compounded monthly. How much money will Marcus receive when he redeems the CD at the end of the 12 years? Marcus will receive \( \$ \square \) (Round to the nearest cent.)

Marcus invests an initial amount of \[ P = \$9,\!000 \] at an annual interest rate of \[ r = 7.0\% = 0.07 \] compounded monthly over \[ t = 12 \quad \text{years}. \] Since the interest is compounded monthly, the number of compounding periods per year is \[ n = 12. \] The formula for compound interest is \[ A = P\left(1 + \frac{r}{n}\right)^{nt}. \] Substitute the values into the formula: \[ A = 9000\left(1 + \frac{0.07}{12}\right)^{12 \cdot 12} = 9000\left(1 + \frac{0.07}{12}\right)^{144}. \] Now, calculate the monthly interest rate: \[ \frac{0.07}{12} \approx 0.00583333. \] Thus: \[ A = 9000 \left(1.00583333\right)^{144}. \] To evaluate the exponentiation, take the natural logarithm: \[ \ln\left(1.00583333^{144}\right) = 144 \ln\left(1.00583333\right). \] An approximate computation gives: \[ \ln(1.00583333) \approx 0.005816 \quad \Longrightarrow \quad 144 \times 0.005816 \approx 0.8375. \] Then: \[ \left(1.00583333\right)^{144} \approx e^{0.8375} \approx 2.3106. \] Therefore, \[ A \approx 9000 \times 2.3106 \approx 20795.4. \] Rounded to the nearest cent, Marcus will receive approximately \[ \boxed{\$20,\!795.40}. \]