A certain bacteria population is known to triples every 90 minutes. Suppose that there are initially 100 bacteria.
Do you have a question about this data?
How do I know which formula to use and how do I set it up?
To find out how many bacteria there will be after a certain amount of time, we can use the concept of exponential growth. In this case, the bacteria population triples every 90 minutes.
Let's break down the problem step by step:
Step 1: Determine the rate of growth
The bacteria population triples every 90 minutes. This means that the growth rate per 90 minutes is 3 (since it triples).
Step 2: Determine the time period you are interested in
In this case, we are looking for the population after a certain amount of time. Let's say we want to know the population after "t" minutes.
Step 3: Calculate the number of growth periods
Since the bacteria population triples every 90 minutes, we can divide "t" by 90 to find out how many growth periods have occurred.
Number of growth periods = t / 90
Step 4: Calculate the final population
Now that we know the number of growth periods, we can use it to calculate the final population.
Final population = Initial population * (growth rate)^(number of growth periods)
In this case, the initial population is 100, the growth rate is 3, and the number of growth periods is t / 90.
So, for example, if we want to know the population after 180 minutes:
Number of growth periods = 180 / 90 = 2 growth periods
Final population = 100 * (3)^2 = 900 bacteria