A population of bacteria triples every day..

Question

If there are 8 bacteria initially, write an algebraic expression for the population of bacteria B as a function of time 't'. How many bacteria will there be in 5 days.

Answer 1

Let P(t) = the population of bacteria and t = days:

 

P(t) = 8*3^t

 

For t = 0, P(0) = 8.  For t = 5:

 

P(5) = 8*3⁵

 

P(5) = 8*243 = 1944