Bacterial population growth curve

BiologyMicrobiology & VirusesAges 15–16

A bacterial population in a culture flask grows following N = N₀·2^(t/g); a graph of log N against time plots itself and colours the four phases — lag, exponential, stationary and death. Students can change the initial cell number, generation time and nutrient supply, or switch to continuous culture (feeding in fresh medium while draining spent broth) to see the death phase disappear.