Question

to remove cockroaches from their apartment, a family sprayed their house with a chemical insect poison as directed on the spray bottle. almost all of the cockroaches were killed. after two weeks, their apartment was full of cockroaches again.
what most likely happened?
a the poison slowed the life cycle of the cockroaches.

b some of the cockroaches were resistant to the poison, and they reproduced.

c the family did not use the insect poison correctly, and so the insects were not exterminated.

d a few cockroaches survived the poison but stopped reproducing.

Explanation:

The problem involves the reappearance of cockroaches after pesticide use. Option A is incorrect because slowing the life cycle would not lead to a full infestation quickly. Option C is unlikely since the family followed instructions and almost all cockroaches were killed initially. Option D is wrong because surviving cockroaches stopping reproduction would not repopulate the apartment. Option B aligns with natural selection: resistant cockroaches survived, reproduced, and their offspring (also resistant) repopulated the space.

Answer:

B. Some of the cockroaches were resistant to the poison, and they reproduced.