The population of bacteria is directly proportional to the temperature. There are about 10 million bacteria at 20 degrees Celsius.
Create a formula for this. What type of variation is this? What is k? How many bacteria will there be at 30 degrees celsius? Where else would I use this?
Population is directly proportional to the temperature.
This implies
P T
=> P = kT
where k is the constant of proportionality
When T = 20 degree celsius, P = 10 million
Therefore,
10 = k(20)
=> k = 10 / 20
=> k = 1 / 2
Therefore, the formula is
P = (1/2) T
The relationship between population and temperature is linear. Therefore, the variation is linear.
k = 1/2
Substituting T = 30 degrees Celsius
P = (1/2)(30) = 15 million
Therefore, there are about 15 million bacteria at 30 degrees Celsius
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