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jmc

number theory senior

Problem

A Penteria is a special (fictional) kind of bacteria such that, regardless of the original population in a collection, the population increases by every minute. Additionally, at the end of every hour, all but the initial ones die. If Penteria are alive after minutes, how many were there at the beginning?
Solution
We have that , so minutes have passed in the latest hour. Let be the initial population. Then .
Final answer
7