Question

for most populations, available resources are limited and restrict how much a population can grow. as a result, most populations cannot exhibit exponential growth forever.
consider once again the population of bacteria growing in a petri dish. the petri dish initially contained nutrient agar for food, but no further nutrient agar was added later. the dish also had a lid that kept bacteria from immigrating into or emigrating out of the dish.
this graph shows the growth of the population of bacteria over 24 hours.
bacterial population
select all the statements about this population that are supported by the graph.
the population grew relatively slowly for the first 12 hours.
the population grew relatively quickly between hours 14 and 18.
the population size did not change much after hour 19.
the population grew exponentially for all 24 hours.

Explanation:

1. For the first statement: The graph shows nearly flat population size for the first 12 hours, indicating slow growth.
2. For the second statement: Between 14 and 18 hours, the population jumps from ~1 billion to ~12 billion, showing rapid growth.
3. For the third statement: After hour 19, the population stabilizes at ~17 billion with minimal change.
4. For the fourth statement: Exponential growth is unlimited, but the graph plateaus, so this is false.

Answer:

• The population grew relatively slowly for the first 12 hours.
• The population grew relatively quickly between hours 14 and 18.
• The population size did not change much after hour 19.