Yeast Population Study

Yeast are single-celled fungi that use sugar as a food source. When deprived of oxygen, they convert sugar to carbon dioxide gas and produce alcohol as a waste product. This reaction releases energy and the yeast use the energy to grow reproduce rapidly.

An experiment was conducted over a period of nine days. The purpose of the experiment was to examine the growth pattern of a population of yeast. The experimenters placed a sample of yeast in a sterilized molasses and water mixture and counted the population each day. The data are recorded in the following table:

1. Use the data to construct a graph of time (on the x axis) versus the yeast population (on the y axis).

2. Describe the shape of the graph

3. Explain the population growth between days 1 and 6.

4. Explain the population growth from day 7 on.