Task 1 Mo is keeping her potato salad in the fridge until they have dinner. When kept at the refrigerator temperature of 34 ⁰F, a particular strain of Salmonella bacteria has an hourly growth rate of 2 which means that the amount of bacteria or population would double every hour.
Suppose Mo’s potato salad starts in the first hour with one single bacterium. Make a table of values showing the number of bacteria that will be present after each hour for the first six hours using the hourly growth rate of 2.
Write the function that models the data in this table, Bacterial Count as a function of Hours. Remember y = a(b)x where a is the starting value and b is the growth rate.

Merv takes his potato salad with him when he goes camping but doesn’t pack it in a cooler. When he sits down to eat, it has been at 75 ⁰F for 6 hours. At that warmer temperature the Salmonella in the potato salad reproduces much faster, with a growth rate of 8.
Assume Merv’s potato salad also starts in the first hour with one single bacterium. Make a table of values showing the number of bacteria that will be present after each hour for the first six hours using the hourly growth rate of 8.
Write the equation that models the Bacteria Count as a function of Hours with the larger growth rate of 8. Use y = a(b)x where a is the starting value and b is the growth rate.

What is the Bacterial Count for Mo’s potato salad after 6 hours? What is the Bacterial Count for Merv’s potato salad after 6 hours?
Which one, Mo or Merv, is more likely to get sick? Explain your reasoning.

Food rots because different kinds of bacteria eat the food before you do.
To prevent this from happening, you must either eliminate the bacteria or create an environment that inhibits their ability to grow or reproduce.
Radiation, changes in pH, the removal of oxygen, and hot temperatures can be used to kill the bacteria in a food product.
Cold temperatures, dehydration, and chemical preservatives can slow the rate at which bacteria reproduce.