Bacterial Growth Calculation using Exponential Function

A certain species of bacteria grows according to the exponential function given by the equation:

$$ N(t) = N_0 e^{kt} $$

where:

• $$ N(t) $$ is the number of bacteria at time $$ t $$,
• $$ N_0 $$ is the initial number of bacteria,
• $$ k $$ is a constant representing the growth rate, and
• $$ e $$ is the base of the natural logarithm (approximately equal to 2.718).

If the initial number of bacteria is 500 and the growth rate $$ k $$ is 0.03, find the number of bacteria after 10 hours. Round your answer to the nearest whole number and enter your answer as a whole number in the grid.