Answer:
53,157
Step-by-step explanation:
The population growth of a bacterial colony can be modeled by an exponential function of the form ...
p(t) = a·b^t
where a is the initial population and b is the growth factor. The growth factor is ...
b = 1 +r
where r is the growth rate.
__
In this problem we have ...
a = 29,600
b = 1 +5% = 1.05
t = 12
So, the population after 12 hours is
p(12) = 29600×1.05^12 ≈ 53,157
The colony will contain 53,157 bacteria in 12 hours.
