Johnny is posting a meme on his social media. Three of his followers like and repost the meme on their own pages. From there, each of those 3 followers has 3 more followers who repost the meme.
How many times do you think this post has been shared if this pattern continues 5 more times? What about 10 more times?
How would you describe this growth in your own words?
If this pattern continues 5 more times, the post has been shared 243 times. If this pattern continues 10 more times, the post has been shared 59049 times.
This growth can be described as exponential, as each time the meme is shared, the number of shares increases by a factor of 3.