The table your working at keeps wobbling. You decide to fix it by making a thick pad of paper from folded sheets of paper. Each time you fold a sheet in two, the number of layers doubles. You fold a first sheet of paper 3 times and stick it beneath the wobbly leg. It doesn't quite do the trick, so you fold another sheet of paper 2 times and put it beneath the wobbly leg too. In total, how many layers of paper did it take to prop up the table?

Question

Tinky

Mathematics

3 June, 09:08

The table your working at keeps wobbling. You decide to fix it by making a thick pad of paper from folded sheets of paper. Each time you fold a sheet in two, the number of layers doubles. You fold a first sheet of paper 3 times and stick it beneath the wobbly leg. It doesn't quite do the trick, so you fold another sheet of paper 2 times and put it beneath the wobbly leg too. In total, how many layers of paper did it take to prop up the table?

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Answers (1)

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Frances Friedman · Answer 1

To answer this question and you will use exponents.

When you fold your paper three times, it is represented as two cubed or 2^3.

When you for your other sheet of paper two times, it is represented as two squared or 2^2.

Put Both of these together and you have 8+4 which equals 12.

It will take 12 layers of paper.