During a research experiment, it was found that the number of bacteria in a culture grew at a rate proportional to its size. at 7 : 00 am there were 2,000 bacteria present in the culture. at noon, the number of bacteria grew to 2,600 . how many bacteria will there be at midnight?

x^2 + 81

we can factor this using difference of square binomials.

rewrite the equation:

x^2 - (-81)

factor:

(a^2 - b^2) = (√a^2 + √b^2)(√a^2 - √b^2)

(x^2 - (-81) = (x + √-81)(x - √-81)

we can remove the - from under the radical by multiplying it by i.

(x^2 - (-81) = (x + i√81)(x - i√81)

(x^2 - (-81) = (x + 9i)(x - 9i)

we can check our answer by using foil:

x^2 - 9ix + 9ix - 81i^2

x^2 - 81^2

i^2 = -1

x^2 + 81

the answer is 6

hope this !