The population of bacteria that begins with a count of X and triples every n years is given by where t represents the number of years of growth and y represents the growth after t years. Suppose the bacteria population in the year 1895 was 150, and it grew to 36,450 by the year 1935. In what year was the population equal to 1,350?

Question

The population of bacteria that begins with a count of X and triples every n years is given by  where t represents the number of years of growth and y represents the growth after t years. Suppose the bacteria population in the year 1895 was 150, and it grew to 36,450 by the year 1935. In what year was the population equal to 1,350?

tkhunny · Answer

Something missing, there.

anonymous · Answer

oh my bad, formula is Y=(x)(3^t/n)

tkhunny · Answer

I'm guessing you mean $Y = x\cdot 3^{t/n}$.  That is not quite what you have written.

You now have the 1895 case and the 1935 case.  These should help you solve for n and x.