Chapter 9.1, Problem 61STP

To determine

The acres of area the fire will cover in 3 days.

Answer to Problem 61STP

In 3 days the fire will cover 512 acres.

Explanation of Solution

Given Information:

The forest fire doubles in size every 8 hours.

The initial size of the fire was 1 acre.

Calculation:

One day has 24 hours

So, three days $=3\times 24$

$=72\text{hours}$

Since the size of the fire gets doubled every 8 hours

Therefore at the end of 3 days (72 hours) the fire size will be $=2^9\text{acres}$

$\left(\frac{72}{8}=9\right)$

$\text{=512acres}$

$\left(2^9=2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2or512\right)$