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20 votes
20 votes
Plis!

Initially, 40 bacteria are placed in a Petri dish. It is observed that the bacteria triple in population every 11 hours.
How can this information be interpreted?
Select True or False for each statement.

Plis! Initially, 40 bacteria are placed in a Petri dish. It is observed that the bacteria-example-1
User Seiya
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1 Answer

19 votes
19 votes

Answer:

Both statements are true.

Explanation:

(a) The general equation for tripling time of a population is


n(t)=n0*3^{((t)/(a)) }, where n0 is the initial population size, t is the time, and a is the doubling time. Since the first part states that n0 = 40 and a = 11, the equation is accurate

(b) We use the first equation and plug in 4 for t and check to see if it's accurate:


n(t) = 40*3^(11/4)\\ n(t)=59.642

The population is indeed approximately 60 after 4 hours.

User Murad Hasan
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