Question

How much time will it take to fill half a cup if a bacterial cell divides once every minute and takes 1 hour to fill a cup?

• A. 30 min
• B. 60 min
• C. 29 min
• D. 59 min

Answer 1

The correct option is D 59 min

• A bacterial cell divides by binary fission. In such a division each cell divides into two cells.
• In a bacterial cell division, the bacteria divide into two to form two different individual cells and hence after each division the number of cells double up.
• So to fill a full cup it takes one hour and to fill half the cup it would be 59 minutes.
  Hence, option D is correct.