Final answer:
The two mainstream methods to obtain the mass distribution of a bacterial population are direct counting methods and indirect measurement methods.
Step-by-step explanation:
The two mainstream methods to obtain the mass distribution of a bacterial population are direct counting methods and indirect measurement methods.
Direct counting methods involve counting individual cells in a sample. This can be done using techniques like serial dilution and plating on agar plates to estimate the colony forming units (CFU) or by using membrane filtration to count live cells.
Indirect measurement methods involve measuring the presence or activity of cells without counting them. This can be done by measuring turbidity of a culture to estimate its density or by measuring metabolic activity to estimate live cell density.