Simon opened a certificate of deposit with the money from his bonus check. the bank offered 4.5% interest for three years of deposit. Simon calculated that he would earn $87.75 interest in that time. How much did Simon deposit to open the accou?

Let's say the deposit number is z.

$87.75 is 4.5% of 3z.

"of" is multiplication.

So, it would read $87.75 is 4.5% x 3z.

Change the percentage to a decimal (without it being a percentage).

It would then read $87.75 is 0.045 x 3z.

The opposite of multiplication is division, so instead of multiplying 0.045 by 3z, you would divide $87.75 by 0.045 to equal 3z.

This would equal 1,950 = 3z.

Now, just like in an algebraic equation, you would divide both sides by 3.

1,950/3 = 3z/3

650 = z

$650 is the deposit amount.