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?

I'm having trouble with the second problem, it must be inverse of 2^n = 1.2n but how would i do that

Question

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?


I'm having trouble with the second problem, it must be inverse of 2^n = 1.2n but how would i do that

amistre64 · Answer

when does 2^n = that big number?

amistre64 · Answer

log both sides and grease up the gears in your calculator :)

amistre64 · Answer

2^n = 4294967296

L(2^n) = L(4294967296)

n L(2) = L(4294967296)

n = L(4294967296)/L(2)

anonymous · Answer

o wow i didn't even think to use logs

anonymous · Answer

saddest part is that i just did a problem that involved logs T___T thanks amistre64!

amistre64 · Answer

with any luck, you get n=32 ;)