SOLUTION: The doubling time for e-coli= 20 minutes Mass of the e-coli bacterium =10 to the -12g Mass of the earth =5.9763* 10 to the 24kg � What is the mass of a colony of e coli af

Question 102611: The doubling time for e-coli= 20 minutes
Mass of the e-coli bacterium =10 to the -12g
Mass of the earth =5.9763* 10 to the 24kg

� What is the mass of a colony of e coli after 1 day (24hrs) of exponential growth from one single e-coli bacterium?

� How long would it take to reach a mass equivalent to planet earth?

Answer by Fombitz(32388) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Doubling time = 20 minutes
Mass of e. coli = g
Mass of earth = kg
For exponential growth problems, we need to determine the growth constant, k, which is related to the doubling time, T, by the following equation:

The general form of an exponential equation is
1. Find m at t=24 hours=1440 minutes, since doubling time is given in minutes for consistency.

Sice we're have mass and are looking for time, let's re-arrange the equation.

Note 1 kg = 1000 g, the mass of the earth was converted to grams to keep units consistent.
2.
t=2639 minutes
Thank goodness for that anti-bacterial soap.
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