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MAT-144 · In-person sections Exam 2 Review · Unit 2
Exam 2 Review · Q3

Total cost and interest for a loan, with a down payment

No amortization formula needed — the monthly payment is handed to you. The work is keeping the down payment on the right side of each answer.

01 Worked Example Video
▸ VIDEO COMING SOON

A short walkthrough explaining what you need to know and how to solve this question type lands here once it's recorded.

02 What This Looks Like on ALEKS

ALEKS randomizes the numbers each attempt, but the question shape stays the same. Here are three example versions you might see.

The total

A $239,000 condominium, $43,000 down, monthly payments of $1,175.13 for 30 years.

What was the total amount paid, including the down payment? Type just the number.

$
The interest

Same condominium: $239,000 price, $43,000 down, 360 payments of $1,175.13.

How much interest was paid on the mortgage? Type just the number.

$
No down payment

A car loan of $18,500 with no down payment, repaid with 60 monthly payments of $352.90.

How much interest was paid? Type just the number.

$
Heads up: Your ALEKS version will use different numbers. The numbers in the practice below are different too — that way you're exercising the move, not memorizing one answer.
03 The Rule
total paid = down payment + (payment × months) the down payment counts here
interest = (payment × months) − loan amount the down payment does NOT count here
The down payment is money handed over, so it belongs in what you paid altogether. But it was never borrowed, so it earns no interest and has no place in the interest calculation. Every wrong answer on this question comes from putting it in both or neither.
Common slips
(1) Subtracted the full purchase price when finding interest. Subtract the loan, which is the price minus the down payment. (2) Forgot the down payment in the total. They did pay it. (3) Used years instead of months. Thirty years is 360 payments, and multiplying by 30 gives an answer twelve times too small.
04 Practice — Step by Step
Down payment in, then out

The Alvarados bought a $186,000 house. They made a down payment of $31,000 and took out a mortgage for the rest. Over 25 years they made monthly payments of $915.40 until it was paid off.

(a) What was the total amount they ended up paying for the house, including the down payment and the monthly payments?
(b) How much interest did they pay on the mortgage?

Step 1

How many payments?

25 years of monthly payments. How many is that?
Step 2

The payments alone

300 payments of $915.40.
$
Step 3

(a) Total paid

Add the down payment. What did the house cost them altogether?
$
Step 4

(b) What gets subtracted?

To find the interest on the mortgage, subtract what from the $274,620 of payments?
Step 5

(b) The interest

274,620 − 155,000.
$
▸ Related Mini Lessons
Q2 Q4
MAT-144 · EXAM 2 REVIEW · Q3 OF 14