Problema Solution

A piece of paper that is 0.25 millimeters thick is folded. Write an equation for the thickness of the paper in millimeters as a function of the number of folds. If the paper could be folded in half 25 times how thick would it be?

Answer provided by our tutors

After 1 fold the thickness will be: 0.25*2

After 2 folds the thickness will be: 0.25*2*2 = 0.25*2^2

After 3 folds the thickness will be: 0.25*2^2*2 = 0.25*2^3

After n fold the thickness will be: 0.25*2^n

The equation of the function is:

t(n) = 0.25*2^n, where n is the number of folds

If the paper could be folded in half 25 times how thick would it be?

This means we need to find t(n) for n = 25:

t(25) = 0.25*2^25

t(25) = 838,860.8 mm

After 25 folds the paper will be 838,860.8 millimeters thick.