Question

A bacteria culture initially contains 1500 bacteria and doubles every half hour. What is the size of the bacterial population after 40 minutes?

a) 1800 bacteria
b) 2250 bacteria
c) 3000 bacteria
d) 3750 bacteria

Answer 1

The bacteria population will be 6000 after 40 minutes.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the size of the bacterial population after 40 minutes, we need to determine how many times the population doubles in that time period. Since the bacteria double every half hour, in 40 minutes (which is equivalent to 2/3 of an hour), the population will double twice. So, the size of the bacterial population after 40 minutes is 1500 x 2 x 2 = 6000 bacteria.