High School

Dr. Benton is studying a bacterial colony with a population of 49,000 bacteria. The colony is growing at a rate of 15% per hour. How many bacteria will the colony contain in 14 hours?

Answer :

Final answer:

To determine the bacterial population after 14 hours, exponential growth is calculated with a 15% per hour growth rate on an initial population of 49,000 bacteria.

Explanation:

Dr. Benton is studying a bacterial colony with an initial population of 49,000 bacteria that grows at a rate of 15% per hour. To calculate the population of the bacteria after 14 hours of growth, we can use the formula for exponential growth:

P = P0 × (1 + r)t

Where:

  • P is the final population
  • P0 is the initial population
  • r is the growth rate per period (in this case, per hour)
  • t is the number of periods (hours)

Using the given numbers:

P = 49,000 × (1 + 0.15)14

After doing the calculation, we can find the population of the bacteria colony in 14 hours.