Question

Three people become infected with a virus that spreads quickly. Each day that passes, the number of infected people doubles. How can the number of infected people be determined from the number of days that have passed?

A: Raise the number of days to the second power, and then multiply this value by 3.
B: Add the number of days to 3, and then multiply this sum by 2.
C: Multiply the number of days by 2, and then add 3 to this product.
D: Raise 2 to the number of days, and then multiply this value by 3.

Answer 1

The number of infected people doubles each day, so raising 2 to the power of the number of days that have passed will give us the number of infected people.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the number of infected people from the number of days that have passed, we need to consider that the number of infected people doubles each day. This is an example of exponential growth. If we start with 1 infected person, after 1 day we will have 2 infected people. After 2 days, we will have 4 infected people. After 3 days, we will have 8 infected people. In general, the number of infected people is determined by raising 2 to the power of the number of days that have passed. So the correct answer is D: Raise 2 to the number of days, and then multiply this value by 3.