A contest winner is given a choice of 2 prizes:

Prize 1: $1 today, $2 tomorrow, $4 on day 3, and so on, for 30 days. Each day the winner receives twice as much as the day before

Prize 2: $1 today, $3 tomorrow, $9 on day 3, and so on, for 20 days. Each day the winner receives 3 times as much as the day before

Steve answered this question.

http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1431898893

but it doesnt make sense

Then we can do it the slow, old-fashioned way.

Day 1 - 1
2 - 2
3 - 4
4 - 8
5 - 16
6 - 32
etc.

Continue til you reach 30 days.

Do the same for Prize 2. Continue for 20 days.

To determine which prize is more valuable, we need to calculate the total amount of money received for each prize over the specified number of days.

For Prize 1, the amount received each day doubles. So, to calculate the total amount received, we can use the formula:

Total amount = initial amount * (2^(number of days) - 1)

For Prize 2, the amount received each day triples. So, the formula to calculate the total amount received will be:

Total amount = initial amount * (3^(number of days) - 1) / (3 - 1)

Now, let's calculate the total amount received for each prize:

Prize 1:
Initial amount = $1
Number of days = 30

Total amount = 1 * (2^30 - 1)
Total amount = 1 * (1073741824 - 1)
Total amount = $1,073,741,823

Prize 2:
Initial amount = $1
Number of days = 20

Total amount = 1 * (3^20 - 1) / (3 - 1)
Total amount = 1 * (3486784401 - 1) / (3 - 1)
Total amount = $1,742,882,000

Comparing the total amounts received for both prizes, we can see that Prize 2 is more valuable, with a total amount of $1,742,882,000 compared to Prize 1's total amount of $1,073,741,823. Therefore, the contest winner should choose Prize 2.