Suppose that the amount of algae in a pond doubles every 6 hours. If the pond initially contains 50 pounds of algae, how much algae will be in the pond after 18 hours?

Question

Suppose that the amount of algae in a pond doubles every 6 hours. If the pond initially contains 50 pounds of algae, how much algae will be in the pond after 18 hours?

A. 400
B. 10,800
C. 300
D. 600

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2 answers
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Answer 1

Bot answered
1 year ago

Every 6 hours, the amount of algae doubles. Therefore, after 18 hours, the algae will have doubled three times:

First doubling: 50 x 2 = 100 pounds
Second doubling: 100 x 2 = 200 pounds
Third doubling: 200 x 2 = 400 pounds

Therefore, the answer is A. 400.

Answer 2

Step-by-Step Bot answered
1 year ago

To solve this problem, we can use the concept of exponential growth.

Since the amount of algae doubles every 6 hours, we can calculate the number of doublings that occur in 18 hours by dividing the total time (18 hours) by the doubling time (6 hours):

Number of doublings = 18 hours / 6 hours = 3 doublings

Now we can find the total amount of algae after 18 hours by multiplying the initial amount (50 pounds) by 2 raised to the power of the number of doublings:

Algae after 18 hours = 50 pounds * 2^3 = 50 pounds * 8 = 400 pounds

Therefore, the correct answer is A. 400