Eric is culturing bacteria that have a growth rate of 5% per hour. If the current population is 76,683 bacteria, how many bacteria will there be in 12 hours? If necessary, round your answer to the nearest whole number.
If the bacteria have a growth rate of 5% per hour, the population will increase by a factor of 1 + 5% = 1 + 0.05 = 1.05 every hour.
Therefore, in 12 hours, the population will increase by a factor of 1.05^12 ≈ 1.795856.
The new population will be 1.795856 * 76,683 ≈ <<1.795856*76683=137753>>137753 bacteria. Answer: \boxed{137,753}.