I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO STUCK!

Question

A scientist began a study with a sample of 1,500 bacteria. He noticed that the number of bacteria in the sample after t days can be modeled by the equation

P=1500 x 3^t In this equation what does 3^t represent

A.- The number of bacteria increases by t bacteria after 3 days

B.- The number of bacteria increases by 3 bacteria each day

C.- The number of bacteria increases by a factor of t each day for 3 days

D.- The number of bacteria increases by a factor of 3 each day

Answer 1

This becomes evident if you run it out a few days.

t = 0: P=1500

t = 1: P=1500(3)¹ = 4500=1500×3

t = 2: P= 1500(3)² = 13500=4500×3

.....

So every day, the population grows by a factor of 3 from the previous day. Best answer is D.

Answer 2

Hello,

This is a Geometric Sequences, where the next term is a multiple of the previous one.

In this problem, the bacteria population becomes 3 times as big each day.

Choices A and B use vocabulary related to addition of 3.

Only Choice D refers to multiplication by 3.