Final answer:
The total account balance at the end of the year is approximately $18,602.30.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the total account balance at the end of the year, we need to consider the interest that is compounded monthly for the first 12 months. The loan amount is $18,000 and the annual interest rate is 4.5%. To calculate the monthly interest rate, we divide the annual interest rate by 12. So, the monthly interest rate is 4.5% / 12 = 0.375%.
Since the interest is compounded monthly, we can use the formula for compound interest to find the total account balance:
A = P(1+r)^n
Where:
A is the total account balance,
P is the loan amount,
r is the monthly interest rate, and
n is the number of compounding periods.
Plugging in the values, we get:
A = $18,000(1+0.00375)^12
Calculating this value, we get:
A ≈ $18,602.30
Therefore, the total account balance at the end of the year is approximately $18,602.30.