Human Disease
Chapter 32: Immune System

Human diseases can be caused by several pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. Assume you begin with one bacterium and one virus. The bacterium is capable of reproducing every 20 minutes. The virus can quadruple its number in one hour. Develop a data table comparing the reproductive capabilities of both the bacterium and the virus over a four-hour time span. Then produce a line graph plotting the points.

Analyze the Graph

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1. What does the line graph look like for the bacterium?
2. What does the line graph look like for the virus?
3. Does the bacterium or virus have a sharper incline? What does this tell you about bacterial and viral replication?

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