Scientists are studying the effectiveness of an antibiotic. They have a mixed population of 33% resistant and 67% nonresistant bacteria. They add an antibiotic to the bacterial environment and allow the bacteria to grow.

Question

What percent of the population would be expected to be resistant to the antibiotic at the end of the experiment? Enter the answer in the box.

Response area with 1 text input box
The number of resistant bacteria will change to
%.

Answer 1

To determine what percent of the population would be expected to be resistant to the antibiotic at the end of the experiment, we can use the initial percentages provided.

Given:

• Initial percentage of resistant bacteria: 33%
• Initial percentage of nonresistant bacteria: 67%

When the antibiotic is added, the nonresistant bacteria will be affected and will likely die off, leaving the resistant bacteria to continue to survive and reproduce.

At the end of the experiment, assuming the nonresistant bacteria are eliminated, the remaining population will consist solely of the resistant bacteria. As a result, the total population of bacteria will now contain only the resistant bacteria.

Thus, it can be expected that:

The number of resistant bacteria will change to 100%.