Expose marine bacteria to X-rays for time periods from 1 to 15 minutes. Here is a scatterplot showing the number of surviving bacteria (in hundreds) on a culture plate after each exposure time:

a. Below is a scatterplot of the natural logarithm of the number of surviving bacteria versus time. Based on this graph, explain why it would be reasonable to use an exponential model to describe the relationship between count of bacteria and time.

b. Here is output from a linear regression analysis of the transformed data. Give the equation of the least-squares regression line. Be sure to define any variables you use.

c. Use your model to predict the number of surviving bacteria after 17 minutes.

Transcribed Image Text:

400 300 200 100 4 8 10 12 14 16 Time (min) Count (hundreds of bacteria) 2.