[tex]\bf ~~~~~~ \textit{Simple Interest Earned} \\\\ I = Prt\qquad \begin{cases} I=\textit{interest earned}\dotfill&265.50\\ P=\textit{original amount deposited}\dotfill & \$3000\\ r=rate\to r\%\to \frac{r}{100}\dotfill\\ t=years\dotfill &3.5 \end{cases} \\\\\\ 265.50=(3000)(r)(3.5)\implies \cfrac{265.50}{(3000)(3.5)}=r\implies 0.025\approx r \\\\\\ \stackrel{\textit{converting that to percentage}}{r\approx 0.025\cdot 100}\implies r\approx \stackrel{\%}{2.5}[/tex]
