How to figure generation time
Moderators: honeev, Leonid, amiradm, BioTeam
How to figure generation time
So i read generation time is the time it takes for a bacteria to double in number.
This question asks a bacterial cell has a generation time of 40 minutes, how many cells will there be after 5 hours of optimal exponential growth?
i thought it should be 40 * 7 = 280
however, it says the correct answer is 128, i dont understand how thats the answer. Help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
This question asks a bacterial cell has a generation time of 40 minutes, how many cells will there be after 5 hours of optimal exponential growth?
i thought it should be 40 * 7 = 280
however, it says the correct answer is 128, i dont understand how thats the answer. Help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
(5*60)/40=7.5
And since we are working with theory, we assume stepwise growth and simultaneous division, so only 7 generations, not 7.5 That is probably where the 7 comes from. The question, is why you would want to multiply it by 40?
AT each generation the number of bacteria is doubling, so you multiply the initial number i of bacteria by 2
so you have i x 2 after the first generation
(i x2) x2 after the 2nd generation which you can simplify to i x2^n after n generations
And since we are working with theory, we assume stepwise growth and simultaneous division, so only 7 generations, not 7.5 That is probably where the 7 comes from. The question, is why you would want to multiply it by 40?
AT each generation the number of bacteria is doubling, so you multiply the initial number i of bacteria by 2
so you have i x 2 after the first generation
(i x2) x2 after the 2nd generation which you can simplify to i x2^n after n generations
Patrick
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests
