Answer: Since the speed of personal computers is expected to double every 18 months, we can use exponential growth to calculate the increase in speed over time. We can start by finding the growth factor, which is equal to 2 raised to the power of the number of doublings. In this case, the number of doublings over 6 years can be calculated as follows:
6 years / 1.5 years = 4 doublings
So the growth factor is:
2^4 = 16
This means that the speed of personal computers will be 16 times faster in 6 years compared to now.
Explanation: