Question

The population of a certain bacteria doubles in size every 3 hours. If a population begins with one bacterium, how many will there be after one day?

Answer 1

There would be 256 bacteria after one day.

There are 24 hours in a day, and the amount of bacteria doubles every 3 hours, so it will double:

24 / 3 = 8 times.

To find the current amount we could use an equation such as:

1 * 2^8 = x

Finally, solve for the number of bacteria:

1 * 2^8 = x

1 * (2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2) = x

1 * (4 * 4 * 4 * 4) = x

1 * (16 * 16) = x

1 * 256 = x

x = 256