Heads up: this is an in-person section page. Online sections have no midterm exams, just one cumulative final. Everything below is still accurate revision material for Topics 3 and 4, but the exam structure it describes is not yours. Switch the course format at the top of the page if you are in an in-person section.
Exam 2 Review
Fourteen questions across Topics 3 and 4. Every one is a formula question: pick the right formula, match the period to the rate, and keep your decimals.
What is on it
- 4Compound interest questions 1, 2, 5, 11
- 3Annuities questions 4, 6, 7
- 4Loans and amortisation questions 3, 10, 13, 14
- 2Continuous compounding questions 8, 9
- 1Credit cards question 12
What is not on it
- Simple interest on its own. It appears only inside question 1, as the thing compound interest is compared against.
- Budgeting and percent work from Topics 1 and 2.
- Anything from Topics 5 onward.
Practice, in ALEKS order
These run in the same order as the ALEKS Exam Review, so item 4 here is question 4 there. Work down the list, then sit the review once.
-
Practice ready
Question 1. Comparing simple and compound interest year by year
Question 1 Comparing simple and compound interest year by year → -
Practice ready
Question 2. Future value and interest for a compound-interest investment
Question 2 Future value and interest for an investment earning compound interest →Two parts: the balance, then the interest earned. The topic review question this used to point at stops at the balance, so part (b) was never practised.
-
Practice ready
Question 3. Total cost and interest for a loan, with a down payment
Question 3 Total cost and interest for a loan, with a down payment →The monthly payment is handed to you here and there is a down payment to account for. Question 10 makes you derive the payment instead, which is why these are separate ALEKS topics.
-
Practice ready
Question 4. Future value of an annuity
Question 4 Future value of an annuity → -
Practice ready
Question 5. Present value of a compound-interest investment
Question 5 Finding the present value of an investment earning compound interest →Reverse direction: the compound formula solved for the principal.
-
Practice ready
Question 6. Value of an annuity across its first few years
Question 6 Computing the value of an annuity for its first few years → -
Practice ready
Question 7. Periodic payment needed to meet an investment goal
Question 7 Finding the periodic payment needed to meet an investment goal →Reverse direction: the annuity formula solved for the payment.
-
Practice ready
Question 8. Final amount with continuous compound interest
Question 8 Final amount of a loan or investment compounded continuously → -
Practice ready
Question 9. Initial amount with continuous compound interest
Question 9 Initial amount of an investment compounded continuously →The same formula as question 8, solved for the principal. Separate ALEKS topic, and the answer moves the other way: a deposit is smaller than what it grows into.
-
Practice ready
Question 10. Monthly payment, total payment and interest for a loan
Question 10 Monthly payment, total payment and interest for a loan → -
Practice ready
Question 11. Effective annual interest rate
Question 11 Finding the effective annual interest rate of a loan or investment →Two-part in ALEKS: the one-year balance first, then the rate.
-
Practice ready
Question 12. Unpaid balance on a credit card statement
Question 12 Unpaid balance for a credit card statement → -
Practice ready
Question 13. Down payment, loan amount and monthly payment
Question 13 Down payment, loan amount and monthly payment for a loan → -
Practice ready
Question 14. Comparing monthly payments and total costs of two loans
Question 14 Comparing monthly payments and total costs of two loans →ALEKS part (c) is a radio button plus the difference, not a free answer. Work out both totals, then subtract.
On the day
- 14 questions.
- Taken in class under LockDown Browser.
- The ALEKS Exam Review that opens the week before is the same length and the same format as the exam itself. Treat it as a dress rehearsal, not a study guide: work through the material on this page first, then sit the review once, cleanly.
- A conversion table is provided inside the ALEKS question for any item that needs one. You are not expected to have the factors memorised.