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A culture of bacteria has an initial population of 400 bacteria and doubles every 2 hours.

Using the formula [tex]$P_t = P_0 \cdot 2^{\frac{t}{d}}$[/tex], where:
- [tex]$P_t$[/tex] is the population after [tex]$t$[/tex] hours,
- [tex]$P_0$[/tex] is the initial population,
- [tex]$t$[/tex] is the time in hours,
- [tex]$d$[/tex] is the doubling time,

What is the population of bacteria in the culture after 13 hours, to the nearest whole number?

Answer :

Sure! Let's walk through the steps to find the population of bacteria after 13 hours.

1. Understand the formula:
- The formula we are using is: [tex]\( P_t = P_0 \cdot 2^{\frac{t}{d}} \)[/tex].
- Here, [tex]\( P_t \)[/tex] is the population after [tex]\( t \)[/tex] hours.
- [tex]\( P_0 \)[/tex] is the initial population, which is 400 bacteria.
- [tex]\( t \)[/tex] is the time in hours, which is 13.
- [tex]\( d \)[/tex] is the doubling time, which is 2 hours (the population doubles every 2 hours).

2. Plug in the values:
- [tex]\( P_0 = 400 \)[/tex]
- [tex]\( t = 13 \)[/tex]
- [tex]\( d = 2 \)[/tex]

3. Calculate the exponent:
- Find [tex]\(\frac{t}{d} = \frac{13}{2}\)[/tex].

4. Compute the power of 2:
- Calculate [tex]\(2^{\frac{13}{2}}\)[/tex].

5. Calculate [tex]\( P_t \)[/tex]:
- Multiply the initial population by the result from step 4: [tex]\( P_t = 400 \times 2^{6.5} \)[/tex].

6. Round to the nearest whole number:
- After computing, round the solution to the nearest whole number to get the final population.

Following these steps, the population of bacteria in the culture after 13 hours is 36,204.

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