A population of bacteria is known to be growing exponentially. Which of the following statements about the population growth rate is true?

Core Concept

The primary reason the statement is true is that the population of bacteria is growing exponentially, which indicates that the population growth rate is increasing exponentially. This is a characteristic of exponential growth, not exponential decay. (B) is incorrect because a horizontal asymptote represents a limit as x approaches ∞, not as x approaches a point in time. (C) is incorrect because the population growth rate is not decreasing exponentially. (D) is incorrect because a vertical asymptote represents a point of discontinuity, not a limit as x approaches a point in time.