Eric is culturing bacteria that have a growth rate of 5% per hour. If the current population is 76,683 bacteria, how many bacteria will there be in 12 hours? If necessary, round your answer to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

In one hour, the number of bacteria will increase by 5% to become 76,683 * 1.05 = <<76683*1.05=80517.15>>80,517.15 bacteria.
In 12 hours, the number of bacteria will increase by that rate 12 times to become 76683 * 1.05^12 = <<76683*1.05^12=172390.20072659145>>172,390.2
Rounding to the nearest whole number gives a final answer of 172,390 bacteria. Answer: \boxed{172390}.