How would I work this problem out?
Bacteria grow by cell division. If each cell divides into 2 in every 2 minutes how many cells will exist after 32 minutes? Assume there was only one cell at the beginning.
2007-05-08 08:04:32 · 3 answers · asked by deathdealer99 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
after 2 minutes : 2 cells
after 4 minutes : 2 * 2 cells
after 6 minutes : 2 * 2 * 2 cells
each next 2 minutes 2 times more as before
so 2^n cells after 2n minutes
2007-05-08 08:15:01 · answer #1 · answered by gjmb1960 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, if you start with one cell, in two minutes you will have two cells. After four minutes, you will have four cells, after six minutes you will have eight.
In general, after n minutes, you will have 2 to the power n/2 cells. so after 32 minutes, you will have 2 to the power 16 cells. (65,536 cells)
2007-05-08 08:22:27 · answer #2 · answered by goodman2041 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1 x 2^(32/2) = 2^16 = 65536
2007-05-08 08:18:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋