The Copycat Snowflake
Understand the puzzle
The exact puzzle
A magic snowflake grows in stages. At stage 1 it is a small Y: one stem splitting into 3 branches, each ending in a tip — so stage 1 has 3 tips. At every new stage, EVERY tip sprouts its own tiny Y of 3 new branches, so each old tip is replaced by 3 new tips. How many tips does the snowflake have at stage 4?
Why this matters
Find the rule that builds the whole from copies of itself
Take your time reading. There's no rush at all. Use the picture on the side to help it make sense, then tell me what it's really asking.