Some cells divided once every 20 min. At this rate how many cells would be there 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours,after a single cell began mitosis

Question

Some cells divided once every 20 min. At this rate how many cells would be there 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours,after a single cell began mitosis?

Answer 1

Brenna,

 

We can model this using the following equation:

 

y = 2^(x/20)

                    where y = number of cells

                              x = time after mitosis (minutes)

 

 

Prepare table:

 

     x      l     y    

     20    l     2          20 minutes after mitosis

     60    l     8          60 minutes or 1 hour after mitosis

    120   l    64         120 minutes or 2 hours after mitosis

    180   l   512        180 minutes or 3 hours after mitosis

 

 

Hope this helps!