It is not increasing exponentially. The questions states that each two tick are evenly spaced so all the tick are distant 2^6 - 2^5 = 32 or 2^5.

Let's assign some variables to some of the tick marks:


Let's first determine the distance between two tick marks.
\(2^6-2^5 = 2^5(2-1) = 2^5\)
So, the distance between consecutive tick marks is \(2^5\)

This means U = \(2^5-2^5 = 0\)
And V = \(0-2^5 = -2^5\)
And W = \(-2^5-2^5 = -2(2^5)\)
And X = \(-2(2^5)-2^5 = -3(2^5)\)

Answer: D

The difference between each even space = 2^6 - 2^5 = 2^5 = 32.

Since X is 4 'even spaces' to the left of 2^5 = 32, then it is 4*32 units less than 32.

4*32 units less than 32 is also 3*32 units less than zero when you remove one 32 which is -96.

X = -96

Prime factorisation of -96 is as follows:

x = - 96
= -(2*48)
= -2*2*24
= -2*2*2*12
= -2*2*2*2*6
= -2*2*2*2*2*3
= -2^5*3
= -3*2^5

The correct answer is D.