Apopulation of bacteria begins with 1 bacterium and triples every hour. which equation can be used to model this situation? a. y = 3x b. y = 3x^2 c. y = x^3 d. y = 3^x

The correct option is D.

Step-by-step explanation:

It is given that the population of bacteria begins with 1 bacterium and triples every hour.

Let initial population be 1.

The population of bacteria after 1 hour is

The population of bacteria after 2 hour is

Similarly the population of bacteria after n hour is

If x is number of hours and y is the population of bacteria after x hour, then

The other way to find the population model is shown below.

The population model is defined as

Where, a is initial population and (1+b) is growth factor.

In the given situation the initial population is 1 and growth factor is 3, therefore

Therefore option D is correct.