Exponential Growth

Multiplying, not adding

An interactive lesson with 8 steps, about 7 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Exponential: $y = a \cdot b^x$ multiplies by $b$ each step. Linear adds the same amount each step.
• Growing by r% means multiplying by (1 + r/100) each period.
• Exponential growth eventually beats any line or power. Halving gives exponential decay.

Steps

1. Take the deal?
2. Adding vs. multiplying
3. Bacteria
4. Compound interest
5. The long race
6. Zooming out on the race
7. Half-life
8. The rule of 72