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# The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes

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Director
Joined: 10 Feb 2006
Posts: 648
The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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Updated on: 25 Jun 2014, 09:49
4
13
00:00

Difficulty:

45% (medium)

Question Stats:

66% (00:59) correct 34% (01:07) wrong based on 355 sessions

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The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the population to grow from 1,000 to 500,000 bacteria

A. 10
B. 12
C. 14
D. 16
E. 18

OPEN DISCUSSION OF THIS QUESTION IS HERE: the-population-of-a-bacteria-culture-doubles-every-2-minutes-167378.html

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Originally posted by alimad on 13 Mar 2008, 20:39.
Last edited by Bunuel on 25 Jun 2014, 09:49, edited 2 times in total.
Renamed the topic, edited the question, added the OA and moved to PS forum.
Intern
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 4
Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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13 Mar 2008, 22:42
Is not quite that.
min 0 - 1,000
min 2 - 2,000=1,000*2^1
min 4 - 4000=1000*2^2;
min 6 - 8000=1000*2^3

Be careful! It doubles every 2 minutes.

So, 1,000*2^x=500,000
2^x=500. It asks you to approx. You know that 2^9=512, so x=9.
Because the pop doubles every 2 minutes, the result=9*2=18 minutes.
OA?
SVP
Joined: 06 Sep 2013
Posts: 1851
Concentration: Finance
Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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11 Sep 2013, 18:13
6
This one's easy.

1000 * 2^t = 500,000
2^t = 500
Now gauging, since 2^8 = 256, then 2^9 = 512
So t = 9

But be careful, 't' is in time intervals of two minutes

So answer is 9*2 = 18 minutes

Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 47923
Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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12 Sep 2013, 02:26
The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the population to grow from 1,000 to 500,000 bacteria

A. 10
B. 12
C. 14
D. 16
E. 18

Similar questions to practice:
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it-takes-30-days-to-fill-a-laboratory-dish-with-bacteria-140269.html
the-number-of-water-lilies-on-a-certain-lake-doubles-every-142858.html
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Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 47923
The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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25 Jun 2014, 09:50
The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the population to grow from 1,000 to 500,000 bacteria?

(A) 10
(B) 12
(C) 14
(D) 16
(E) 18

$$1000 * 2^t = 500,000$$ --> $$2^t = 500$$ --> since $$2^9 = 512$$, then $$t\approx{9}$$. Thus, approximately 9 two-minute intervals are needed, whcih is 18 minutes.

Similar questions to practice:
a-certain-bacteria-colony-doubles-in-size-every-day-for-144013.html
it-takes-30-days-to-fill-a-laboratory-dish-with-bacteria-140269.html
the-number-of-water-lilies-on-a-certain-lake-doubles-every-142858.html
the-population-of-locusts-in-a-certain-swarm-doubles-every-90353.html

OPEN DISCUSSION OF THIS QUESTION IS HERE: the-population-of-a-bacteria-culture-doubles-every-2-minutes-167378.html
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Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Posts: 7719
Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes  [#permalink]

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04 Aug 2018, 00:29
Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes &nbs [#permalink] 04 Aug 2018, 00:29
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