The NCAA basketball tournament begins with 64 teams and consists of 6 rounds of play. The winners of the first round play against each other in the second round. The winners then move from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight to the Final Four and finally to the Championship Game.
How does an exponential function describe tournament play?
Include the following in your answer:
- an explanation of how you could use y=2^x to determine the number of rounds for 128 teams, and
- an explanation of an inappropriate number of teams for tournament play with an explanation of why this number would be inappropriate.

Question

The NCAA basketball tournament begins with 64 teams and consists of 6 rounds of play.  The winners of the first round play against each other in the second round.  The winners then move from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight to the Final Four and finally to the Championship Game.
How does an exponential function describe tournament play?
Include the following in your answer:
- an explanation of how you could use y=2^x to determine the number of rounds for 128 teams, and
- an explanation of an inappropriate number of teams for tournament play with an explanation of why this number would be inappropriate.