Question

if the bacteria population is doubling every hour, can you estimate the bacteria population at the time of 10 hours?

Answer 1

Bacterial population at the time of 10 hours = 1040000

Explanation:

Let the function that defines the bacterial population after 'x' hours is,

p(x) = a(b)ˣ

Where a = Initial population

And 'x' = Duration or time

Since bacterial population is getting doubled every hour,

2a = a(b)¹

b = 2

Therefore, function will be,

p(x) = a(2)ˣ

From the graph attached,

Point (5, 32500) lies on the graph of the function.

32500 = a(2)⁵

a =
`(32500)/(32)=1015.625`

Therefore, the function will be,

p(x) = 1015.625(2)ˣ

For x = 10 hours,

p(10) = 1015.625(2)¹⁰

= 1040000 bacteria