Step 1 :The problem is asking for the population of bacteria after 5 hours given an initial population and a growth rate. This is a classic exponential growth problem. The formula for exponential growth is: \(P(t) = P0 * e^{rt}\) where: \(P(t)\) is the future value of the population, \(P0\) is the initial value of the population, \(r\) is the rate of growth, and \(t\) is the time.
Step 2 :In this case, \(P0 = 95\), \(r = 0.17\) (17% expressed as a decimal), and \(t = 5\). We can substitute these values into the formula and solve for \(P(t)\).
Step 3 :Substituting the given values into the formula, we get \(P(t) = 95 * e^{(0.17 * 5)}\).
Step 4 :Calculating the above expression, we get \(P(t) = 222.26645093296918\).
Step 5 :Rounding to the nearest tenth, we get \(P(t) = 222.3\).
Step 6 :Final Answer: The population predicted after five hours, according to the model, is approximately \(\boxed{222.3}\).