Question

A lab scientist is growing bacteria in a study. The population of bacteria cells is x cells, but after 2 hours, the population is x^2 cells. Two hours later, the bacteria population is now x^3 cells. If the population of the bacteria after these 4 hours is one million cells, what was the population at the start?

a) 100 cells
b) 200 cells
c) 500 cells
d) 1000 cells

Answer 1

The population of bacteria at the start was 100 cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

The population of bacteria cells is initially x cells. After 2 hours, the population becomes x^2 cells, and after another 2 hours, the population becomes x^3 cells. We are given that the population after these 4 hours is one million cells. Therefore, we can calculate x^3 = 1,000,000 and solve for x. Taking the cube root of both sides, we find that x = 100. So, the population at the start was 100 cells.