Here is a fun activity that teaches both financial literacy and math.

Ask this:

If someone gave you a penny and said she would double your money every day, how long do you think it would take for you to become a millionaire?

Answer: 27 days!  Your money would grow “exponentially” to the power of 2 every time it was doubled.

Have students do the math:

1+1=2

2+2=4

4+4=8

and so on!

Exponential growth is a speeded-up rate of growth and numbers grow large very quickly!

Have fun spending your millions,

Activity from Cool Math by Christy Maganzini,  Lowell House Juvenile Books, 1997.