Final answer:
The initial number of bacteria at the beginning can be found by dividing the final number by 2 raised to the power of the doubling times.
Step-by-step explanation:
The bacteria double every 6 minutes, and we want to find out how many bacteria there were at the beginning if after 1 hour there are 2048 bacteria. Since the bacteria double every 6 minutes, we can find how many times they doubled in 1 hour (60 minutes) by dividing 60 by 6, which gives us 10. Therefore, the bacteria doubled 10 times in 1 hour. To find the initial number of bacteria, we divide the final number of bacteria (2048) by 2 raised to the power of the doubling times (10):
Initial number of bacteria = 2048 / (210) = 2.
So, there were 2 bacteria at the beginning.