Question

imagine a population of bacteria growing in a petri dish with nutrient agar, a gel that provides food and space to grow. the dish has a lid that keeps bacteria from immigrating into or emigrating out of the dish. every 30 minutes, every bacterium in the population reproduces asexually by dividing into two, which doubles the population size. this graph shows the growth of a population of bacteria over three hours. bacterial population select all the statements about this population that are supported by the graph. the population had a constant growth rate. the population demonstrated linear growth. the bacterial populations growth rate between minutes 150 and 180 was greater than its growth rate between minutes 90 and 120. during each 30 - minute interval, the populations growth was positive.

Explanation:

1. The population has a constant growth rate because every 30 - minute interval, the population doubles. For example, if we start with \(P_0\) at \(t = 0\), at \(t=30\) it's \(2P_0\), at \(t = 60\) it's \(4P_0\), etc.
2. It does not demonstrate linear growth. In linear growth, the increase is by a constant amount, not a constant multiple. Here it doubles each time, which is exponential growth.
3. The growth rate is constant as it doubles every 30 minutes. So the growth rate between 150 - 180 minutes is the same as between 90 - 120 minutes.
4. Since the population doubles every 30 - minute interval, the growth is positive in each 30 - minute interval.

Answer:

The population had a constant growth rate.
During each 30 - minute interval, the population's growth was positive.