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A culture of budding yeast starts with 12 cells and doubles every 20 minutes. How many cells will be present after 1 hour?

easy 2 marks Class 10 · Science · How do Organisms Reproduce

Answer

96

The correct answer is 96 — Multiply the initial 12 cells by 8: $12 \times 8 = 96$ .

Step-by-step solution

There are 60 minutes in an hour, so the number of 20‑minute intervals is $60 \div 20 = 3$ .
Each interval the population doubles, so the multiplication factor is $2^{3} = 8$ .
Multiply the initial 12 cells by 8: $12 \times 8 = 96$ .

Common mistake: forgetting the initial number or miscounting the intervals

Concept tested: Binary fission population growth

Published 10 October 2026 · How this solution was prepared and checked

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