Abiologist recorded a count of 337 bacteria present in a culture after 5 minutes and 699 bacteria present after 15 minutes. to the nearest whole number, what was the initial population?

The initial population was 234.

Explanation

Formula for the exponential growth is:   , where P is the initial amount, A is the final amount, r is the rate of growth and  t  is the time duration.

There was 337 bacteria after 5 minutes and 699 bacteria after 15 minutes. So, the equations will be......

Now dividing equation (2) by equation (1) , we will get .......

Taking 'natural log' on both sides.........

Now, plugging this into equation (1), we will get......

So, the initial population was 234.