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Suppose a culture containing 2*108 bacteria was exposed to ionizing radiation sufficient to kill 99.99% of the cells. calculate the number of bacteria you expect to survive this treatment.

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The culture contains 2*10^8 bacteria before it was exposed to ionizing radiation which kills 99.99% of the bacteria. The number of bacteria left after the radiation would be:

final number= initial number * (100%- radiation kill rate)
final number= 2*10^8 *(100%-99.99%)
final number= 2*10^8 *(0.01%)
final number= 2*10^8 * 10^-6
final number= 2*10^(8-6)
final number= 2*10^2
User Jan De Dobbeleer
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