Lesson eLearning

A culture of Paramecium contains 200 individuals. The population doubles every 20 minutes. How many individuals will be present after 1 hour?

easy 1 mark Class 10 · Science · How do Organisms Reproduce
Answer
1600

The correct answer is 1600 — Thus 1600 individuals will be present after 1 hour.

Step-by-step solution

  1. Identify the doubling period as 20 minutes.
  2. Convert 1 hour into minutes: 1 hour = 60 minutes.
  3. Calculate the number of doubling periods: 60 ÷ 20 = 3.
  4. Use exponential growth formula: Initial × 2^(number of periods).
  5. Compute 200 × 2^3 = 200 × 8 = 1600.
  6. Thus 1600 individuals will be present after 1 hour.
Common mistake: Forgetting to divide 60 minutes by 20 or miscounting periods

Concept tested: Population growth by exponential doubling

Published · How this solution was prepared and checked

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