High School

A culture of bacteria has an initial population of 43,000 and doubles every 5 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, and
- [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 :

To solve this problem, let's go through the steps using the formula provided for the population of bacteria:

The formula is:
[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.

Now, let's plug the given values into the formula:
- The initial population ([tex]\( P_0 \)[/tex]) is 43,000 bacteria.
- The doubling time ([tex]\( d \)[/tex]) is 5 hours.
- The time ([tex]\( t \)[/tex]) after which we want to find the population is 13 hours.

Substitute these values into the formula:

[tex]\[ P_t = 43000 \cdot 2^{\frac{13}{5}} \][/tex]

1. First, calculate the exponent:
[tex]\[ \frac{13}{5} = 2.6 \][/tex]

2. Next, calculate [tex]\( 2^{2.6} \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ 2^{2.6} \approx 6.209 \][/tex] (rounded approximately)

3. Now, multiply this result by the initial population:
[tex]\[ 43000 \times 6.209 \approx 267,703 \][/tex]

4. Finally, round to the nearest whole number:
[tex]\[ 267,703 \][/tex]

So, the population of bacteria in the culture after 13 hours is approximately 260,703.

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