Bobby has 16 toy cars, and the number of cars he has increases by 50% every year. How many toy cars will Bobby have in three years? Let's think first. Chain of thought:
In the first year, Bobby will acquire 16 * .5 = 8 new cars. After the first year, he will have a total of 16 + 8 = 24 cars. In the second year, Bobby will acquire 24 * .5 = 12 new cars. After the second year, he will have 24 + 12 = 36 cars in total. In the third year, Bobby will acquire 36 * .5 = 18 new cars. After the third year, he will have 36 + 18 = 54 cars in total.
Therefore, the answer is 54.