A number of bacteria, [math]f(t)[/math], at any time [math]t[/math], in hours, can be estimated using the function [math]f(t) = 3000(1.24)^t[/math]. What was the initial size of the bacteria colony? Is the bacteria population exponentially decaying or growing?

[list=1][br][*]Identify the value of the dependent quantity at [math]t = 0[/math].[br][/*][*]Identify the hourly rate of change in the function.[br][/*][*]Describe how the rate of change relates to the change of the dependent quantity.[br][/*][/list][br][br]This applet is provided by Walch Education as supplemental material for their mathematics programs. Visit [url=http://www.walch.com/]www.walch.com[/url] for more information.