Question

A researcher claims that genetic variation provides organisms with the ability to survive and reproduce in different environments.

To support the claim, the researcher makes the following observation: bacteria that contain plasmids (small DNA molecules) are resistant to a wider range of antibiotics than are bacteria that contain no plasmids.
Which statement best establishes a connection between the observation and the researcher’s claim?

Answer 1

The researcher is inferring that some bacteria evolved plasmids to become resistant to a wider range of antibiotics. He is developing a hypothesis based on an observation and a principle. This would later need to be confirmed with an experiment or supported with other findings, since there could be many other explanations as to why bacteria with plasmids resist more antibiotics.

Answer 2

The researcher's claim is in the same way of the observation made because from it it is inferred that in a population of bacteria with genetic variation, in which some of them have plasmids and others do not, the population survives because those bacteria with plasmids are resistant to antibiotics, if for example there were only bacteria without plasmids all bacteria would die when using antibiotics so this is an example that genetic diversity is an evolutionary advantage