Bacterial Growth Predictor

Juan González
16 September 2026

A simple Shiny application for exploring bacterial growth.

The Problem

Bacterial populations can increase rapidly under favourable conditions.

This application allows the user to explore how bacterial growth changes depending on:

  • Initial bacterial population
  • Growth rate
  • Incubation time

How the Application Works

The application uses the exponential growth model:

N(t) = N0 * exp(r * t)

The user selects the input values.

The application automatically calculates the predicted population and generates a growth curve.

Reproducible R Calculation

Example:

N0 <- 1000
r <- 0.20
t <- 10

N0 * exp(r * t)

[1] 7389.056

Model Assumptions

The model assumes exponential bacterial growth under ideal conditions.

It does not consider:

  • Nutrient limitation
  • Cell death
  • Changes in temperature
  • Competition between microorganisms

Therefore, the application is intended as a simple educational model.