Answer:
C. 32,768
Explanation:
Step 1
Convert the number of hours to minutes
2.5 hours to minutes = 2 hrs 30 minutes to minutes is calculated as
1 hour = 60 minutes
2 hours 30 minutes =
Cross multiply
(60 minutes × 2 hours) + 30 minutes = 150 minutes.
Step 2
We are told in the question that the bacteria population doubles every 10 minute interval
Find the number of intervals in 150 minutes
= 150 minutes / 10 minutes interval
= 15 intervals
Step 3
The number of bacteria present after 2.5 hours is calculated using the formula of
= Amount of bacterium × 2ⁿ
Where n = number of intervals = 15
Amount of bacterium = single bacterium = 1
Number of bacteria = 1 × 2¹⁵
= 32,768
Therefore, when you start with a single bacterium in a petri dish, the number of bacteria that will there be in 2.5 hours is 32,768