Question

If the number of bacteria in a colony triples every 60 minutes and the population is currently 2,000 bacteria, what will the population be in 240 minutes and is the growth modeled by a linear function or a exponential function? A) 20,000; linear B) 20,000; exponential C) 162,000; linear D) 162,000; exponential

Answer 1

It's exponential. And you will triple the size every 60 minutes in 240 minutes, so triples 4 times. 2000 times 3 is 6000. 6000 times 3 is 18000. 18000 times 3 is 54000. 54000 times 3 is 162000 so D is the answer.