College

A culture of bacteria has an initial population of 43,000 bacteria 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 find the population of bacteria after 13 hours, we can use the formula for exponential growth:

[tex]\[ P_t = P_0 \cdot 2^{\frac{t}{d}} \][/tex]

Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Identify the given values:
- Initial population, [tex]\( P_0 = 43,000 \)[/tex] bacteria
- Time, [tex]\( t = 13 \)[/tex] hours
- Doubling time, [tex]\( d = 5 \)[/tex] hours

2. Plug the values into the formula:

[tex]\[ P_t = 43,000 \cdot 2^{\frac{13}{5}} \][/tex]

3. Calculate the exponent:
- First, divide the time by the doubling time: [tex]\( \frac{13}{5} = 2.6 \)[/tex]

4. Calculate [tex]\( 2^{2.6} \)[/tex]:
- This represents how many times the population doubles in the given time.

5. Multiply by the initial population:
- Then, multiply this result by the initial population to find the bacteria population at 13 hours.

6. Round to the nearest whole number:
- Since we need the population as a whole number, rounding will give us the final answer.

Following these steps, the population of bacteria in the culture after 13 hours is approximately 260,703 bacteria.

Other Questions