Math Problem Statement
One lucky day, you meet a leprechaun who promises to give you fantastic wealth, but hands you only a penny before disappearing. You head home and place the penny under your pillow. The next morning, to your surprise, you find two pennies under your pillow. The following morning, you find four pennies, and the morning after that, eight pennies. Suppose that you could keep making a single stack of the pennies. After how many days would the stack be long enough to reach a star that is about 3 times ×10^13 km away? (Assume that 1 pennyequals=1.5 mm)
Solution
To solve this problem, we will use the following logic:
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Understand the penny doubling pattern: The number of pennies doubles each day. The total number of pennies on day is given by:
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Calculate the height of the stack: The height of the stack of pennies on day is:
Substitute :
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Convert the target distance to millimeters: The target distance is . Converting to millimeters:
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Set up the equation to solve for :
Rearranging for :
Simplify:
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Take the logarithm to solve for : Taking the base-2 logarithm of both sides:
Use logarithmic rules:
Since and , where :
Calculate:
Add 1 to find :
Final Answer:
It would take approximately 65 days for the stack of pennies to reach the star.
Do you want more details on any part of this solution? Here are 5 related questions to expand your understanding:
- How does the height of the penny stack change with exponential growth?
- Can this doubling pattern be visualized using graphs?
- What happens if the star were further away or closer?
- How does logarithmic calculation help in solving real-world exponential growth problems?
- What are other examples of problems involving doubling sequences?
Tip: Exponential growth is surprisingly fast; understanding it is key to grasping phenomena like compound interest and population growth
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Exponential Growth
Logarithms
Unit Conversion
Formulas
P_n = 2^(n-1) (Number of pennies on day n)
H_n = P_n × 1.5 mm (Height of the stack in millimeters)
log2(x) = log(x) / log(2) (Base-2 logarithm conversion)
Theorems
Properties of Exponential Functions
Logarithmic Rules
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 9-12
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