1. **Problem statement:** Antonia receives $10,000 at the end of each year for the next five years. The account yields 4% interest compounded annually. We need to find the present value (PV) of these five future payments, assuming she just received this year's payment (so the first payment to discount is next year). 2. **Formula used:** The present value of an annuity (series of equal payments) is given by: $$PV = P \times \frac{1 - (1 + r)^{-n}}{r}$$ where $P$ is the payment amount, $r$ is the interest rate per period, and $n$ is the number of payments. 3. **Given values:** $P = 10000$ $r = 0.04$ $n = 5$ 4. **Calculate:** Calculate $(1 + r)^{-n} = (1.04)^{-5} = \frac{1}{(1.04)^5}$. First, $(1.04)^5 = 1.2166529$ approximately. So, $(1.04)^{-5} = \frac{1}{1.2166529} \approx 0.8227$. 5. **Substitute into formula:** $$PV = 10000 \times \frac{1 - 0.8227}{0.04} = 10000 \times \frac{0.1773}{0.04} = 10000 \times 4.4325 = 44325$$ 6. **Interpretation:** The present value of the next five payments is approximately $44,325$. Among the options, the closest is $44,518$ (option C). **Final answer:** C. $44,518$