Final answer:
The calculation relates to a Biology concept using a mathematical model of exponential growth to determine the number of bacterial cells after a certain period given a specific doubling time for the cultures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is Mathematics applied within the context of Biology, specifically relating to the concept of exponential growth in bacterial cultures. In the provided scenarios, bacteria double at regular intervals which creates a pattern that can be modeled mathematically. For example, if a bacterial culture doubles every 30 minutes, starting with 1 × 10⁵ cells, after 2 hours it will have doubled 4 times (since 2 hours is 120 minutes and each doubling period is 30 minutes, so 120/30 = 4). Each 'doubling time' results in the population multiplying by 2, therefore, after 2 hours the bacterial culture would grow to 1 × 10⁵ x 24 = 1.6 × 10⁶ cells.
When dealing with a jar that can hold 10⁶ bacteria, to determine the starting amount for the jar to reach full capacity after 24 hours with a given doubling time, you can work backwards. If a jar is half full at the penultimate doubling period, you would start with that amount. The dramatic scenario where the jar is half full at 23 hours, and doubles every minute means we start with the jar half full at 23 hours, reaching full capacity at 24 hours.