Question

Jams, jellies, preserves, honey, and other foods with high sugar content hardly ever become contaminated by bacteria, even when the food containers are left open at room temperature. This is because bacteria that encounter such an environment:_______. A) are unable to swim through these thick and viscous materials B) are unable to metabolise the glucose or fructose, and thus starve to death C) undergo death as a result of water loss from the cell D) are obligate anaerobes

Answer 1

Answer:

C) undergo death as a result of water loss from the cell

Explanation:

In high sugar concentrations bacteria undergo death by a process called plasmolysis. Plasmolysis is a process by which bacteria lose water as a result of osmosis. The shrinkage of the protoplasm away from a plant cell wall due to water loss caused by osmosis is also plasmolysis

In other for the environment to maintain equilibrium, water moves from the bacteria (hypotonic) to the sugar solution (hypertonic) by osmosis i.e the movement of particles from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration. It is this water loss that leads to the shrinking of the bacteria cell. The loss of water further hinders natural metabolism, and hence cell death.

Answer 2

Answer: this is because bacteria that encounter such an environment UNDERGO DEATH AS A RESULT OF WATER LOSS FROM THE CELL.

Option C.

Explanation: Water is a great medium of growth for bacteria. Several experiments have been carried out to support this statement. Also, it is a means by which the bacterium is transmitted from "a site" to another.