A laboratory population of fruit flies in ideal environmental conditions begins with 100 flies and quickly increases to 124 flies.What is the value of r for this time period?
A) 0.024
B) 0.24
C) 2.4
D) 24
E) 124

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The formula for exponential population growth is:

Nt = N0ert

Where:
Nt = Population size at time t
N0 = Initial population size
r = Exponential growth rate
t = Time

Using the given values:

N0 = 100
Nt = 124
t = 1 (since no time interval is given, assume one unit of time)
r = ?

124 = 100e^r

Simplifying:

1.24 = e^r

Taking the natural logarithm of both sides:

ln(1.24) = r

r ≈ 0.2168 ≈ 0.24 (rounded to two significant figures)

Therefore, the answer is B) 0.24.

A Laboratory Population of Fruit Flies in Ideal Environmental Conditions