In a culture of E.coli the cell population increased from `1.5 xx 10^(6)` cells/ml to `12 xx 10^(6)` cells/ml in 36 minutes. The generation time is

Options

A. 6 min.
B. 9 min.
C. 12 min.
D. 18 min.

Answer

C

Explanation

Increase in number is from `1.5xx10^(6)" to "12xx10^(6)` i.e., 8 times. 8 times take 3 mitotic divisions `1(1)/()2(II)/()4(III)/()8` therefore, generation time is `(36)/(6)=12` minutes.