Answer to Question #280192 in Cell Biology for Aliya

Question

If there are no limits to growth, assume a certain bacterium that divides every 20

minutes would take exactly 3600 hours (150 days) before the mass of the bacterial

culture would equal the mass of the earth. For the same bacterium, at what time will

the mass of the bacterial culture be ½ the mass of the earth?

Answer 1

For the same bacterium, the time when the mass of the bacterial culture be ½ the mass of the earth will be 150 days minus 20 min (149 days 23 hours and 40 min), because the doubling time is 20 min.