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O-LevelBiologyCell Biology5090/11 · Oct/Nov 2025 · Q331 Mark

Bacteria reproduce by splitting into two. This can happen every 20 minutes in ideal conditions of sufficient water, food and at a warm temperature. Small numbers of bacteria do not usually make people ill. When a student takes her lunch out of the fridge, it contains 4 bacteria. After 2 hours at room temperature, it contains 256 bacteria. From the time that the food is taken out of the fridge, how long will it take before there are 16384 bacteria in her food?

A2 hours
B3 hours
C4 hours
D5 hours

✓ Correct answer

C: 4 hours

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About this question

Topic
Cell Biology, O-Level Biology (syllabus 5090). Multiple choice, 1 mark.
Source
O-Level Biology, Oct/Nov 2025 Paper 1 Variant 1, question 33.

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