Question from sandi, a student:
I have several questions similar to this one and was wondering if you could walk me through this one. I'm totally lost on how to do it.
Paramecia reproduce by splitting in two. In a laboratory flask, a colony of paramecia had an initial population of 500. Each day, the population of the paramecia was counted. The results are as listed.
Time (in days)------Population
0-----------------------500
1-----------------------600
2-----------------------720
3-----------------------864
4----------------------1037
5---------------------1244
6---------------------1493
7----------------------1792
8---------------------2150
1.)Using graphing calculator make a scatter plot of the data in table.
I think I did this part right I set my window at Xmin=0 Xmax=10 Xscl=1 Ymin=0 Ymax=2500 Yscl=100 Xres=1
2.) Determine an exponential equation to represent the population as a function of time without using a graphing calculator.I have no clue how to do this.
3.)Suppose the flask and food supply is large enough to support the trend of the population growth. Estimate the population of the colony when the time is 10 days.
