Understand the Powers of 2 Sequence

Here is a sequence of numbers:

1,   2,   4,   8,   16,   32,   64,   128...

Starting at 1, we get the next number by multiplying by 2 or doubling the previous number.

These numbers are also called the powers of 2.

2⁰ = 1

2¹ = 2

2² = 4

2³ = 8

2⁴ = 16

2⁵ = 32

2⁶ = 64

2⁷ = 128

... etc...

The 'powers of 2' are an example of a geometric sequence, where each term after the first is found by multiplying the previous term by a fixed number, called the common ratio. The common ratio is 2.

The 'powers of 2' sequence goes on for ever. It is infinite and grows quickly!

Let's have a go at some questions now,