Download Lesson 8.2

Class 24, April 21, 2016
Lesson 8.2: 400 Guilders Becomes a Trillion

By the end of this lesson, you should
understand that:
◦ With linear growth, the debt grows by a constant
monetary value (e.g. number of guilders) each
period, whereas with exponential growth, the debt
grows by the same percentage each period.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able
to:
◦ Understand precision, including how small changes
in initial assumptions can effect large changes later
on.
◦ Understand and re-interpret Excel notations, such
as scientific notation, symbols for exponentiation,
etc.

Main ideas in the lesson:
◦ Small debts can rapidly increase with
compounding interest.
◦ Mathematical models are not perfectly accurate
ways to measure values. Nevertheless,
mathematical models are useful, and many have
been shown to calculate values that are close to
the real data.

Connections to the 8 course goals:
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the
reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.