Final answer:
Bacterial growth in flasks with endospores of different ages may vary depending on their evolutionary adaptations to pollutants. If growth equalizes over time, it may be due to the loss of resistance in one flask leading to less variation between the two.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Bacterial Growth in Different Conditions
In a hypothetical research scenario where bacterial endospores from different ages are placed in growth mediums with a pollutant, the expected results would vary depending on the age of the endospores and their prior exposure to the pollutant. If the endospores from flask A are 20-year-old and those in flask B are 100-year-old, the initial resistance to the pollutant might differ due to the evolutionary adaptions the endospores could have developed. In a circumstance where both flasks exhibit similar growth over time, a possible explanation could be:
b. Because the endospores formed 20 years ago would lose their resistance to the pollutant. The bacteria in flask A would die, leading to less pronounced variation in the growth between the two flasks.
Alternatively, c. Because the endospores formed 100 years ago, before the marsh was polluted, they would lose their resistance to the pollutant. This would hypothetically allow the bacteria in flask B to eventually grow more prolifically once they adapt, reducing the difference in population size with flask A.
However, these are hypothetical situations and outcomes would vary based on the specific attributes of the bacteria and pollutant.