Question

Question 126

The cells of a bacteria double itself every hour. How many cells will be there after 8 hours, if initially we start with 1 cell. Express the answer in powers.

Answer 1

The cell of a bacteria doubles itself every hour.
If we begin with a single cell, then the cell of bacteria after

1 hour =$2=2^1$
2 hours =$4=2^2$
3 hours =$8=2^3$
4 hours =$2^4$
5 hours =$2^5$
$...$
8 hours = $2^8$

Let x be the number of hours.
From the above we observe that the general term for the increase in the number of cell is $2^x$
$\therefore NumberofCellsofabacteriain1hour=2^x$
$=2^1$

$\therefore NumberofCellsofabacteriain8hours=2^8$