Question

Kevin is observing the growth of a population of bacteria. He started out with 175 bacteria cells. The population triples every hour. Use x to represent the number of hours and y to represent the population of bacteria.

Enter an equation that represents this scenario

Answer 1

The equation representing the exponential growth of a bacterial population that triples every hour, starting with 175 bacteria cells, is y = 175 × 3^x.

Step-by-step explanation:

Kevin is observing the exponential growth of a bacterial population that triples every hour.

To represent this growth mathematically, we use an equation where x represents the number of hours and y represents the population of bacteria.

Given that the initial number of bacteria cells is 175, and knowing that the population triples every hour, we can express this with the equation:

y = 175 × 3^x

Here, 175 is the starting number of bacteria, 3 indicates that the population triples, and x is the exponent showing the number of hours that have passed.

This equation is a model of exponential growth, a concept characterized by a population increasing at an accelerating rate over time.

Answer 2

The equation representing the bacterial population that triples every hour starting from 175 cells is y = 175 × 3^x.

Step-by-step explanation:

The equation that represents the scenario where the population of bacteria triples every hour can be expressed in the form of exponential growth.

If Kevin starts out with 175 bacteria cells and we let x represent the number of hours and y represent the population of bacteria, the equation that describes this growth is y = 175 × 3^x. This equation shows that for each hour that passes, the population of bacteria is multiplied by 3 to determine the new population size.