Rice's formula
Okay kiddo, have you ever had a big jar of M&M's and wanted to know how many were in there? Well, that's kind of what Rice's formula does, but instead of M&M's, it's for counting bacteria or tiny living things you can't see with your eyes.
Here’s how Rice’s formula works: First, you take a small sample of the bacteria and put it on a special plate that has some yummy food for them to grow on. Then, you wait a little bit and come back to see how many bacteria have grown.
Next, you take the number of bacteria you counted and put it into a special formula, which is like a set of instructions for doing math. The formula is N = (L/R) x S.
N stands for the estimated number of bacteria in the whole sample. L is the area of the plate, R is how many bacteria “dots” you counted, and S is how much bacteria you put on the plate in the first place.
Basically, you use this formula to estimate how many bacteria there are in your whole sample, based on how many you counted on the plate. It’s kind of like using a small spoonful of M&M's to figure out how many are in the whole jar!
And that's Rice's formula, buddy!
Here’s how Rice’s formula works: First, you take a small sample of the bacteria and put it on a special plate that has some yummy food for them to grow on. Then, you wait a little bit and come back to see how many bacteria have grown.
Next, you take the number of bacteria you counted and put it into a special formula, which is like a set of instructions for doing math. The formula is N = (L/R) x S.
N stands for the estimated number of bacteria in the whole sample. L is the area of the plate, R is how many bacteria “dots” you counted, and S is how much bacteria you put on the plate in the first place.
Basically, you use this formula to estimate how many bacteria there are in your whole sample, based on how many you counted on the plate. It’s kind of like using a small spoonful of M&M's to figure out how many are in the whole jar!
And that's Rice's formula, buddy!