In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?That answer is only half correct. While it does take 47 days to cover one half the lake, it takes only one day to cover the second half. :=)Your first response is probably to take a shortcut, and to divide the final answer by half. That leads you to twenty-four days. But that’s wrong. The correct solution is forty-seven days.
no, that answer is not *only* half correct. that answer is 100% correct. The question is how long to cover half the lake. The answer for covering half the lake is the entire correct answer.
More global warming problems.......
This is a problem involving exponential growth.
It’s like asking a person, “Would you like to have a million dollars right now, or start with a penny now and double the amount daily for ten years? “