Answer:
a) k=2.08 1/hour
b) The exponential growth model can be written as:

c) 977,435,644 cells
d) 2.033 billions cells per hour.
e) 2.81 hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
We have a model of exponential growth.
We know that the population duplicates every 20 minutes (t=0.33).
The initial population is P(t=0)=58.
The exponential growth model can be written as:

For t=0, we have:

If we use the duplication time, we have:

Then, we have the model as:

The relative growth rate (RGR) is defined, if P is the population and t the time, as:

In this case, the RGR is k=2.08 1/h.
After 8 hours, we will have:

The rate of growth can be calculated as dP/dt and is:
![dP/dt=58[2.08\cdot e^{2.08t}]=120.64e^2.08t=2.08P(t)](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=dP%2Fdt%3D58%5B2.08%5Ccdot%20e%5E%7B2.08t%7D%5D%3D120.64e%5E2.08t%3D2.08P%28t%29)
For t=8, the rate of growth is:

(2.033 billions cells per hour).
We can calculate when the population will reach 20,000 cells as:
