If a 1 mm thick paper is folded so that the area is halved at every fo...
Introduction:
In this problem, we are given a 1 mm thick paper that is folded in such a way that the area is halved at every fold. We need to determine the thickness of the pile after 50 folds.
Approach:
To solve this problem, we can use the concept of exponential growth. Each time the paper is folded, its thickness doubles. Therefore, after the first fold, the thickness becomes 2 mm, after the second fold it becomes 4 mm, and so on.
Calculation:
Let's calculate the thickness of the paper after each fold:
- After 1 fold: Thickness = 1 mm * 2 = 2 mm
- After 2 folds: Thickness = 2 mm * 2 = 4 mm
- After 3 folds: Thickness = 4 mm * 2 = 8 mm
- After 4 folds: Thickness = 8 mm * 2 = 16 mm
We can observe that after each fold, the thickness of the paper doubles. Therefore, after 50 folds, the thickness would be:
- After 50 folds: Thickness = 1 mm * 2^50
Now, let's calculate the value of 2^50:
2^50 = 1,125,899,906,842,624
Therefore, the thickness of the pile after 50 folds would be:
Thickness = 1 mm * 1,125,899,906,842,624 = 1,125,899,906,842,624 mm
Final Answer:
The thickness of the pile after 50 folds would be 1,125,899,906,842,624 mm, which is approximately equal to 1 billion km. Therefore, the correct answer is option D) 1 billion km.