Question

You decide to raise gerbils. Starting with three, you have nine at the end of 6 weeks, twenty-seven at the end of 12 weeks, and so on. The gerbil population triples every 6 weeks. How many gerbils will you have at the end of 24 weeks?

Answer 1

Using the exponential growth formula and considering a tripling every 6 weeks, the population of gerbils will grow to 243 at the end of 24 weeks.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Mathematics, specifically it deals with exponential growth in a population of gerbils. To calculate the number of gerbils at the end of 24 weeks, we can use the concept that the population triples every 6 weeks. Starting with three gerbils, we can set up the growth formula:

Gerbils at end = Initial number × (3)^(number of periods)

Each period is 6 weeks, so at 24 weeks, there are 4 periods because 24 weeks/6 weeks per period = 4 periods.

Then we apply this to our initial number of gerbils:

Gerbils at end = 3 × (3)^4 = 3 × 81 = 243 gerbils

The population of gerbils at the end of 24 weeks will be 243.