Abstract
What do pyramid clubs, hot cups of coffee, gambling outcomes, and inflation rates have in common? Consider the following specific problems.
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(a)
If each recipient of a certain chain letter dutifully delivers copies of the same letter to just five other persons in 1 week, how many people will be involved in the first 8 weeks?
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(b)
A cup of coffee in a room where the temperature is 70°F cools from 190°F to 130°F in 6 minutes. How much longer will it take to cool down to 85°F?
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(c)
Assume you have $100 for gambling at the roulette wheel, and at each spin of the wheel you bet half the money you then have on red, which is an “even-money” bet. Thus you win or lose the amount of your bet. If you win 10 times and lose 10 times will you end up ahead or behind or even?
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(d)
If the Consumer Price Index rises 1% per month for 12 months, what is its rise for the entire year?
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© 1984 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Driver, R.D. (1984). Powers and Geometric Sequences. In: Why Math?. Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1108-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1108-2_6
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