Safia opens a new savings account with a 2.25% simple interest rate. She deposits $3,500 and earned $3,696.88 total (with interest) by the time she checks the account again. How long was the money left untouched in the savings account?

The money was left untouched for 2 years and 6 months or just 2.5 years

Step-by-step explanation:

In this question, we are asked to calculate the time taken for an amount deposited to earn a certain amount of interest.

Mathematically, simple interest can be calculated using the formula;

I = PRT/100

where I is the interest accrued which is 3696.88 - 3,500 = 196.88

P is the principal which is the amount deposited = 3,500 according to the question

R is the rate which is 2.25% according to the question

T is the time which we are to find

we can rearrange the formula making T the subject and we obtain the following;

T = 100I/PR

substituting the values listed above we have;

T = (100 * 196.88) / (3500 * 2.25)

T = 19688/7875

T = 2.5 years or 2 years 6 months