A science teacher is designing a lesson on exponential growth. She explains that a bacterial culture doubles every 3 hours. If the initial population is 500 bacteria, how many bacteria will be present after 12 hours?

Sun, 03 May 2026 09:28:47 +0000

**A science teacher is designing a lesson on exponential growth. She explains that a bacterial culture doubles every 3 hours. If the initial population is 500 bacteria, how many bacteria will be present after 12 hours?** Understanding how populations grow over time is essential in biology, and one of the clearest examples comes from bacterial reproduction. A science teacher is designing a lesson on exponential growth to help students explore this concept through a real-world example. In this scenario, a bacterial culture doubles every 3 hours—meaning its size quadples exponentially with each stage. Starting with just 500 bacteria, the challenge is to calculate how many will be present after 12 hours, a period of four doubling intervals. --- Why A science teacher is designing a lesson on exponential growth. She explains that a bacterial culture doubles every 3 hours. If the initial population is 500 bacteria, how many bacteria will be present after 12 hours? This real-life example illustrates the power of exponential patterns, often surfacing in classrooms across the U.S. as educators connect math to biology. With 12 hours total, dividing the time by the doubling interval reveals 4 cycles: 12 ÷ 3 = 4. Each cycle multiplies the population by 2, so the total growth factor is 2⁴ = 16. Whether teaching in person or exploring online, this problem bridges foundational math with compelling scientific principles.