BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the popula

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Legendary Member
Posts: 1223
Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:23 pm
Followed by:1 members

The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the popula

by BTGModeratorVI » Sat Aug 08, 2020 7:05 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the population to grow from 1,000 to 500,000 bacteria?

(A) 10
(B) 12
(C) 14
(D) 16
(E) 18

Answer: E
Source: Official guide
Top
Source: — Problem Solving |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 16207
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC
Thanked: 5254 times
Followed by:1268 members
GMAT Score:770

Re: The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the po

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:02 am
BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 08, 2020 7:05 am
 The population of a bacteria culture doubles every 2 minutes. Approximately how many minutes will it take for the population to grow from 1,000 to 500,000 bacteria?

(A) 10
(B) 12
(C) 14
(D) 16
(E) 18

Answer: E
Source: Official guide
When we scan the answer choices (ALWAYS scan the answer choices BEFORE deciding on the approach you'll take), we see that the number of population "doublings" will be between 5 and 9.
Given these relatively small values, we might solve this question by creating a growth table

MINUTES ELAPSED | POPULATION
0 | 1,000
2 | 2,000
4 | 4,000
6 | 8,000
8 | 16,000
10 | 32,000
12 | 64,000
14 | 128,000
16 | 256,000
18 | 512,000 DONE!!

Answer: E

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
Image
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1