Question

Researchers recorded that a certain bacteria population declined from 750,000 to 250 in 48 hours after the administration of medication. at this rate of decay, how many bacteria will there be in 8 hours? round to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

The question appears to ask for the bacterial population after 8 hours given a starting point and a decay over 48 hours, but lacks a decay rate constant to accurately calculate the exponential decline. A linear approximation method would not suffice for exponential decay.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is asking to determine the population of bacteria after 8 hours at a given rate of decay. The 'recorded' decline from 750,000 to 250 bacteria over 48 hours can be addressed using an exponential decay model. To find the population at 8 hours, the same decay rate must be applied.

However, based on the information provided which outlines scenarios of exponential growth with doubling times, the original problem might have an insufficient data point or is missing a decay rate constant to accurately solve for bacteria count after 8 hours. If we were to assume the decay to be linear (which is not the case for bacterial decay), the bacteria would decline by 749,750 (750,000 - 250) over 48 hours, which is 15619.79 per hour. After 8 hours, this would result in a decline of 124958.33 bacteria. Given the starting amount is 750,000, this would imply the population after 8 hours would be approximately 625,041 bacteria. However, since bacterial decay is not linear, this method does not provide an accurate representation of the decay.