Final answer:
The thermal death point is the lowest temperature at which all microorganisms in a suspension are killed in 10 minutes. Thermal death time indicates the length of time needed to kill all microorganisms at a given temperature. Decimal reduction time is the time it takes to reduce a microbial population by 90%.
Step-by-step explanation:
The lowest temperature at which all of the microorganisms in a particular liquid suspension will be killed in 10 minutes is called the thermal death point (TDP). However, the term that describes the time required to kill all of the microbes within a sample at a given temperature is known as thermal death time (TDT). In comparison, the decimal reduction time (DRT), also known as the D-value, is the amount of time it takes to reduce a microbial population by 90%, effectively killing 90% of the population.