Bacterial Growth Calculator
Model exponential microbial growth — enter the starting count, doubling time, and incubation time to project the final population and fold-change.
Final count
262.144e6
Breakdown
- Generations completed
- 18
- Fold increase (×)
- 262,144
- Log₁₀ increase
- 5.42
Last updated:
FAQ
What is the bacterial growth formula?
N(t) = N₀ × 2^(t/d), where d is the doubling time. E. coli doubling around 20 minutes completes 18 generations in 6 hours — a 260,000-fold increase, which is why cultures go from clear to turbid overnight.
Why do real cultures stop growing exponentially?
Nutrients run out and waste accumulates, pushing the culture into stationary phase. The exponential model holds only during log phase — typically OD600 between 0.1 and 0.6 for common lab strains.
How do I count generations?
Divide total incubation time by the doubling time. Each generation doubles the count, so 10 generations is exactly a 1,024-fold increase (2¹⁰).
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