Question

Which statement best describes why there would be more purple (MRSA) bacteria in the population after passing through the sieve (antibiotic treatment)? Recognize that the sieve is an analogy for the presence of an antibiotic killing some cells (those collected in the sieve) and not killing others (those that pass through the sieve).

A. The yellow bacteria are resistant to antibiotic treatment, leaving them to survive and reproduce.
B. The yellow bacteria could not pass through the sieve.
C. The yellow bacteria are repelled by the antibiotic treatment.
D. The yellow bacteria represent bacteria that are NOT resistant to antibiotic treatment, leaving the purple bacteria (resistant) to survive and reproduce.

Answer 1

The correct answer is D. The yellow bacteria represent bacteria that are NOT resistant to antibiotic treatment, leaving the purple bacteria (resistant) to survive and reproduce.

Step-by-step explanation:

As the sieve contain antibiotic which will kill those bacteria which is not resistant to that antibiotic and will not harm the bacteria which is resistant to that antibiotic so the presence of purple MRSA bacteria in the population after passing through sieve conclude that purple MRSA bacteria was antibiotic-resistant bacteria because it is not killed by antibiotic present in the sieve.

The absence of yellow bacteria in the population concludes that the yellow bacteria were not resistant to the antibiotic and they are killed while passing through sieve leaving the purple bacteria to survive and reproduce.

Answer 2

D. The yellow bacteria represent bacteria that are NOT resistant to antibiotic treatment, leaving the purple bacteria (resistant) to survive and reproduce.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the given explanation, the purple bacteria could survive the treatment with antibiotics. This means that purple bacteria were resistant to antibiotics. They could survive and reproduce to leave progeny in the presence of antibiotics. On the other hand, the yellow bacterial lack the required gene for antibiotic resistance and could not survive. If the yellow bacteria were resistant, they would have been able to pass through the sieve.