16Hit1600
Advanced MathVery hardTime for exponential growth to reach a value

Advanced Math practice question

A population of 250 insects doubles every 4 days. After how many days will the population first reach 4,000?

Answer: 16

4000/250 = 16 = 2⁴, so four doublings, and 4 × 4 = 16 days.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 4
4 is the number of doublings, not days.
If you answered 8
8 days is two doublings, giving 1,000.
If you answered 64
64 multiplies the ratio 16 by 4 days, mistaking the ratio for the number of doublings; 16 = 2⁴ means four doublings.

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