If Resistance Is Possible, Why Aren't All Bacteria Resistant to Antibiotics

question 46

Multiple Choice

If resistance is possible, why aren't all bacteria resistant to antibiotics by now?

• A) They don't reproduce quickly enough to all become resistant.
• B) The mutations causing resistance are very rare.
• C) They can't easily share their resistance across a population.
• D) Maintaining resistance leaves less energy for reproduction, so non-resistant bacteria do better in general.
• E) Not all antibiotics work.

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Definitions:

Sampling Distribution

The likelihood distribution of a statistical measure derived from numerous samples taken from a particular population.

Standard Deviation

An indicator of the degree of spread or variability within a dataset, showing the extent to which the values deviate from the average.

Sample Mean

The average value calculated from a sample subset of a population, used as an estimate of the population mean.

Freshmen

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