The cells of a certain culture of bacteria triple every 2 minutes. If there are 40 cells in the beginning, in how many minutes will there be more than 9500 cells?

A) 4 min

B) 5 min

C) 11 min

D) 10 min

9500=40 * (3) ^t

Where t is the number of minutes

Solve for t

9500/40=3^t

Take the log

Log (9500/40) = log (3) * t

Divide each side by log (3)

T=log (9,500:40) : log (3)

T=4.9 minutes

So there will be more than 9500 cells in 5 minutes