98908324...
7fa3dc14...
a791144f...
ce74cbf1...
Contrast linear growth with exponential growth, and gain an intuitive sense for massive numbers using powers of 10.
Preview · progress not saved — Chapter 1 is free
Comparing a ladder to the moon vs folding paper.
Imagine trying to build a ladder to the Moon, with a gap of 20 cm between each consecutive step.
Because the distance increases by a fixed, added amount with each step (additive growth), it would take an exhausting 1,92,20,00,000 steps (nearly 2 billion!) to reach the Moon.
Historical names for large numbers.
Long before modern science, ancient Indian scholars were already naming mind-bogglingly large numbers! The Buddhist text Lalitavistara (1st century BCE) names odd powers of ten up to (tallakshana), and Jaina texts give names up to (dasha-ananta).
Using scientific notation to compare populations.
The global human population is approximately . The estimated population of ants globally is .
Set up the division and use the laws of exponents () to find the number of ants per human. Express your final answer in standard scientific notation.
Enter the calculated ratio in scientific format.
Show how you divided the coefficients and subtracted the exponents.
Translate your mathematical answer into plain English.