Page 200 - Big Ideas Year 10 sciPAD 2025

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200 SCIPAD - BIG IDEAS - BOOK 2
LIFE OF MICROBES
Bacterial Reproduction
Under favourable conditions (plentiful food, space, etc.) some species of bacteria can reproduce
every 20 minutes. All bacteria reproduce by a process known as binary fission.
DNA replicates
inside a mature
bacterium.
Cell elongates and DNA
is pulled towards the cell
poles.
The chromosomes
(DNA) separate and the
cell begins to divide.
The new cell wall fully develops,
resulting in the formation of two
‘daughter cells’.
1. Complete the table by calculating the total number of bacteria produced over five hours
under ideal conditions.
Time (minutes) Number of bacteria Time (minutes) Number of bacteria
0 1 160
20 2 180
40 4 200
60 8 220
80 16 240
100 32 260
120 64 280
140 128 300
2. Use the data from the table to plot a line graph.
Bacterial growth over 5 hours under ideal conditions
Time (minutes)
No. of Bacteria
3. Estimate how long it would take for the bacterial colony to reach 1 million individuals.


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