Question

directions: type your answer in the box. round it to the nearest whole number. a mutation occurs in a single bacterium that causes it to produce a new enzyme. this enzyme helps the bacterium access nutrients more efficiently, increasing the bacteriums odds of survival. every 30 minutes, the bacteria in the colony divide, passing their genes on to their offspring. some bacteria survive, while others do not. because resources are limited, the colony has a steady population of 114 bacteria. the bacterial colony is shown below at three different time intervals. 0.0 hours 1.0 hours 2.0 hours no enzyme enzyme assume that the survival trend shown in the diagram continues. at 3.0 hours, the mutant bacteria will make up percent of the entire colony.

Explanation:

Step1: Observe the population change

At 0.0 hours, assume total population is large number. At 1.0 hours, mutant (red - enzyme) bacteria increase. At 2.0 hours, they increase more.

Step2: Calculate proportion at 3.0 hours

If we assume the growth trend continues linearly (simplified assumption), from the visual increase in the mutant bacteria over the 2 - hour period shown, we note that the proportion of mutant bacteria seems to be increasing significantly. If we consider the total population at 2.0 hours as 114 bacteria and assume the growth rate of mutant bacteria continues, we can estimate. But since no exact initial total population is given, we can also use the visual trend. By 2.0 hours, a significant portion of the population is mutant. If we assume the growth continues, at 3.0 hours, if we consider the total population to still be mainly composed of the original and mutant bacteria and the mutant bacteria keep growing at the observed rate, we can estimate that the mutant bacteria will make up about 75% of the population.

Answer:

75