Hi everyone, having problems with this:

A certain nasty bacterium splits every 1.2 seconds (into two nasty bacteria). These bacteria
never die. a) What is the doubling time of a population of these bacteria? b) If there are currently
4294967296 bacteria in a population, how long ago was there just a single bacterium?

Question

Hi everyone, having problems with this:

A certain nasty bacterium splits every 1.2 seconds (into two nasty bacteria). These bacteria
never die. a) What is the doubling time of a population of these bacteria? b) If there are currently
4294967296 bacteria in a population, how long ago was there just a single bacterium?

amistre64 · Answer

how long does it take them to split in two?  what is their doubling time?

amistre64 · Answer

if we start with 1

2 = 1.2 seconds
4 = 2.4 seconds
8 = 3.6 seconds

2^n = 1.2 n seconds

does this sound like a good assessment of the situation?

anonymous · Answer

sounds good to me!

anonymous · Answer

@wakoff  you got this?

anonymous · Answer

oh goodness, i'm sorry i went afk. I udnerstand completely thanks!

amistre64 · Answer

:)  good