237,085 views
24 votes
24 votes
Carla wants to buy a new bike before summer starts in one week. She saves $1 on the first day of the week, $2 on the second day, $4 on thethird day, $8 on the fourth day, and continues this pattern the rest of the week.If the bike costs $150, Carla willenough money to buy the bike before the start of summer.Carla will have

User Naeio
by
3.1k points

1 Answer

15 votes
15 votes

Let's begin by listing out the information given to us:

Time to summer (t) = 1 week = 7 days

First day = $1

Second day = $2

Third day = $4

Fourth day = $8

Fifth day = ?

Sixth day = ?

Seventh day = ?

With the passing of each day, Carla saves double the amount of the previous day. Represented by the geometric progression:


\begin{gathered} f(x)=2^(x-1) \\ f(1)=2^(1-1)=2^0=1 \\ f(2)=2^(2-1)=2^1=2 \\ f(3)=2^(3-1)=2^2=4 \\ f(4)=2^(4-1)=2^3=8 \\ f(5)=2^(5-1)=2^4=16 \\ f(6)=2^(6-1)=2^5=32 \\ f(7)=2^(7-1)=2^6=64 \end{gathered}

On the fifth, sixth & seventh day, Carla saved $16, $32 & $64 respectively.

In 1 week (7 days), Carla saved $127

If the bike costs $150, Carla only has $127 of the said sum:


127-150=-23

Therefore, Carla needs $23 more to be able to purchase the bike before summer

Hence, Carla will not have enough money to buy the bike before summer

User David Neuschulz
by
3.3k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.