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

If the bacteria have a growth rate of 5% per hour, the population will increase by a factor of 1 + 5% = 1 + 0.05 = 1.05 every hour.
Therefore, in 12 hours, the population will increase by a factor of 1.05^12 ≈ 1.795856.
The new population will be 1.795856 * 76,683 ≈ <<1.795856*76683=137753>>137753 bacteria. Answer: \boxed{137,753}.