Bacteriophages proliferate in the host cell and then lyse the cell when they have perhaps 100 new phages.How many phages on average could be produced from a culture with 10⁹ bacteria? A) 10⁹ B) 10¹⁰ C) 10¹¹ D) 10¹² E) 10¹³

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Each bacteria can produce approximately 100 new phages before lysing, so each generation will result in a 100-fold increase in the number of phages. Starting with 10^1 (S1) bacteria, after the first round of phage proliferation, there will be 10^1 * 100 = 10^3 (P3) phages. After the second round, there will be 10^3 * 100 = 10^5 (P5) phages. After the third round, there will be 10^5 * 100 = 10^7 (P7) phages. After the fourth round, there will be 10^7 * 100 = 10^9 (P9) phages. After the fifth round, there will be 10^9 * 100 = 10^11 (P11) phages. After the sixth round, there will be 10^11 * 100 = 10^13 (P13) phages. After the seventh round, there will be 10^13 * 100 = 10^15 (P15) phages. After the eighth round, there will be 10^15 * 100 = 10^17 (P17) phages. After the ninth round, there will be 10^17 * 100 = 10^19 (P19) phages, which is the number of phages in the final culture. Therefore, the answer is choice C, 10¹¹.

Bacteriophages Proliferate in the Host Cell and Then Lyse the Cell