How folding a paper can get you to the moon.
Can folding a piece of paper 45 times get you to the moon? By seeing what happens when folding just one piece of paper, we see the unbelievable potential of exponential growth. This lesson will leave you wanting to grab a piece of paper to see how many times you can fold it! Lesson by Adrian Paenza, animation by TED-Ed.
Answer the following questions:
Paenza observes, "With every fold we make, the paper doubles in thickness from the previous value." How would you express this using mathematical notation?
Paenza says, "Folding a piece of Bible paper 45 times, we get to the moon. And if we double it one more time, we get back to Earth." Does this surprise you? Why or why not? Does it make the great distance between the Earth and the moon any more comprehensible? What other expressions have you heard that help you get a good sense of scale and distance (like the distance from the Earth to the moon)?
Do you enjoy working on problems like the one that Paenza poses in this lesson? Why or why not?
Record a 1 minute video recommending this pill.