Question

In a biology experiment, the population of fruit flies doubles every three days. If the population started with 30 fruit flies, then determine, to the nearest whole number, the population of fruit flies after 10 days.

a) 480
b) 360
c) 240
d) 180

Answer 1

The population of fruit flies after 10 days is approximately 240 flies.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the population of fruit flies after 10 days, we need to calculate the number of doubling periods in 10 days. Since the population of fruit flies doubles every 3 days, there are 10/3 = 3.33 doubling periods in 10 days. We can round this down to 3 doubling periods.

Starting with 30 fruit flies, after 3 doubling periods, the population would be 30 * 2 * 2 * 2 = 240 fruit flies.

Therefore, the population of fruit flies after 10 days is approximately 240 flies.