A microbiologist inoculates a growth medium with 100 bacterial cells/ml. If the generation time of the species is 1 hour, and there is no lag phase, how long will it be before the culture contains more than 10,000 cells/ml?
A) 24 hours
B) 10 hours
C) 7 hours
D) 3 hours
E) 2 hours

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number of cells doubles every hour. Starting with 100 cells/ml, it takes 7 hours to exceed 10,000 cells/ml: 100 -> 200 -> 400 -> 800 -> 1600 -> 3200 -> 6400 -> 12800.

A Microbiologist Inoculates a Growth Medium with 100 Bacterial Cells/ml