Table 1

Analysis of linear and exponential growth by comparing long-term and short-term isotope incorporation.

LINEAR GROWTH

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

Cell size

Size increase

Inc/size

Cell age

Cell size

Size increase

Inc/size

1

0.1

0.100

0

1.00

0.07

0.072

1.1

0.1

0.091

0.1

1.07

0.08

0.072

1.2

0.1

0.083

0.2

1.15

0.08

0.072

1.3

0.1

0.077

0.3

1.23

0.09

0.072

1.4

0.1

0.071

0.4

1.32

0.09

0.072

1.5

0.1

0.067

0.5

1.41

0.10

0.072

1.6

0.1

0.063

0.6

1.52

0.11

0.072

1.7

0.1

0.059

0.7

1.62

0.12

0.072

1.8

0.1

0.056

0.8

1.74

0.12

0.072

1.9

0.1

0.053

0.9

1.87

0.13

0.072

2

1

2.00

The center, bold-faced, column lists the cell ages from 0 to 1.0. At the left the linear increase of mass is related to the absolute increase in mass per interval (0.1 each interval for linear increase in mass during division cycle), and the ratio of incorporation per extant cell mass is given in the third column (0.1 to 0.053). Similar results for exponential growth except the mass increase per interval goes from 0.07 at the start of the division cycle to 0.13 at the end. The ratio of incorporation per extant mass in the right-most column is thus constant.

Cooper BMC Cell Biology 2004 5:35   doi:10.1186/1471-2121-5-35