Final answer:
In exponential growth, the bacteria population would approximately reach 3200 after 4 hours, assuming it doubles every hour starting from 200 bacteria.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question involves a scenario where a bacteria culture starting with 200 bacteria grows at a rate proportional to its size, known as exponential growth. To predict the population size after a given time, we can use the principle of doubling. In a simplified example, assuming that bacteria double every hour, starting with 1000 bacteria, they would increase to 2000 after one hour, then to 4000 after two hours, and continue growing exponentially. Therefore, after 4 hours, starting with 200 bacteria, the population would have undergone four doubling cycles (200 → 400 → 800 → 1600 → 3200). So, the bacteria population size would be approximately 3200 after 4 hours assuming no limitations on resources and ideal conditions for growth.