BRAINCAKELogarithmic Scale
Bacterial populations can grow from a few hundred cells to billions in a day. On a normal (linear) axis, the early numbers would be squashed against zero and the later ones would run off the graph. Microbiologists therefore plot the logarithm of the number of cells.
The logarithm to base 10 (log10) of a number is the power to which 10 must be raised to give that number:
log10 1000 = 3, because 103 = 1000
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More in Bacteria and Disease
- Turbidity
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- Area and Mass of Fungi
- Growth of Bacterial Colonies
- Exponential Growth
- Bacterial Toxins
- Endotoxins
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All 30 lessons in Bacteria and Disease · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics