Paper Folding
(View Complete Item Description)This is a very open-ended task designed for students to develop some of the basic ideas surrounding exponential growth. While implementations will vary (as discussed below), the core idea is that each fold of the piece of paper doubles the height of the stack. Combined with an estimate of the original thickness of the paper and the distance to the moon, this is enough information to deduce the minimum number of folds to get there. The solution uses the estimate of 0.1 mm for the thickness of paper and 385,000 km for the distance to the moon.
Material Type: Activity/Lab