Question

the graph shows the relationship between time, in hours, and the population, in thousands, of a culture of bacteria. which statement describes the meaning of the point (0, 10) on the graph?
a. after 10 hours, there are 10,000 bacteria.
b. after 10 hours, there are no more bacteria.
c. the population began with 10,000 bacteria.
d. the population is multiplying itself by 10 each hour.

Explanation:

The x - axis represents time (in hours) and the y - axis represents the population (in thousands of bacteria). For the point \((0,10)\), the x - value is 0, which means time \(t = 0\) hours (the start time), and the y - value is 10, which means the population is 10 thousand (or 10,000) bacteria.

• Option A: The x - value of 0 does not represent 10 hours, so A is wrong.
• Option B: A y - value of 10 means there are bacteria, not none, so B is wrong.
• Option C: At \(t = 0\) (start), the population is 10,000 bacteria, which matches the meaning of the point \((0,10)\).
• Option D: The point \((0,10)\) does not give information about the rate of multiplication per hour, so D is wrong.

Answer:

C. The population began with 10,000 bacteria.