Ok, first one to answer this question CORRECTLY gets best answer.
There is a bunny hopping from one side of the road to the other. He tires out easily, like if he hops one distance, there is always half the distance he hopped left to get the other side of the road.
His first hop is 8 feet long. The road is 16 feet.
Please no smart aleck answers, and here's a hint...its a trick answer...(that gives it away, huh)
2007-01-31 12:32:32 · 14 answers · asked by flowerz 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
How many hops does it take to get across?
2007-01-31 12:48:18 · update #1
he will never reach the other side. asymptote
2007-01-31 12:41:22 · answer #1 · answered by mave_dawg07 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ah, Zeno's paradox...
In theory, no finite amount of hops will get the bunny to the other side. Every hop covers half of the remaning distance. Half of something is always something, so there will always be a bit of road left, and thus the bunny will never cross.
In reality, the hopping would get to the point where the distance the bunny has to hop is smaller than an atom, and when you're looking at things like that on a subatomic level it's hard to say how to measure the distance of a bunny's jumping point and landing point.
An oldie but goodie, though.
2007-01-31 13:51:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
6
2007-01-31 12:41:27 · answer #3 · answered by gabnella 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each hop is 1/2 his last. starting at 8 feet, 4 feet, 2 feet, 1 foot, 1/2 foot 1/4 foot 1/8 foot 1/16 foot 1/32 foot 1/64 foot, 1/128 foot 1/256 foot. At this point he has hoped 12 times. So yes he can make it, he has only a hair more to go, which is only thousands of an inch. One good barking dog and he's gone, his last jump he managed an astounding 4 foot jump, darn it was straight up.
2007-01-31 14:00:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If as you say " there is always half the distance he hopped left to get the other side of the road. " is true, then he never gets there.
2007-01-31 13:42:26 · answer #5 · answered by David W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I'm not sure what you're asking for here. Is it one of those, he never reaches the other side becuase theres always half more of the distance to cover? Again, I dont think you stated a question, you just told a story about a bunny.
2007-01-31 12:41:55 · answer #6 · answered by nick 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He will never reach the other side if only gets half as much after each hop.
2007-01-31 14:45:02 · answer #7 · answered by Mikey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He never makes it (at least theoretically). If you can only make half the distance each time, you will never reach the other side.
If you were to graph it, it would be an asymptote as he approached the other side.
2007-01-31 12:44:28 · answer #8 · answered by scott 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
he's currently 8 feet accross the road? since he tired out?
but is the road on a diagonal then? since there's supposed to be 4 feet added to that? so doesn't that make him 12 feet diagonally?
2007-01-31 13:48:55 · answer #9 · answered by Hey, Ray 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He will get there in an infinite amount of hops as the amount of space diverges and approaches zero.
2007-01-31 12:42:27 · answer #10 · answered by brads 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
umm 8
2007-01-31 12:39:11 · answer #11 · answered by spunkedup21 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋