Question

Consider this population of bacteria and how it has changed over time. Darwin hypothesized that there are definite steps to natural selection. One is that the population is large. This species of bacteria was subjected to an antibiotic, yet the species survived. Besides being a large population, what else must be present? A) randomness of traits B) the presence of mutagens C) variation within that population D) a very high rate of reproduction

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is option C) "variation within that population".

Explanation:

A population of bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics for multiple factors. As stated, a large population is beneficial for the bacteria, because the more bacteria, the more likely will have a bacteria that has a random mutation that helps to survive the presence of the antibiotic. Other beneficial factor is that the population has variations in their genome. The more diverse the population of bacteria is, the more likely a bacteria will be genetically resistant to the antibiotics.