Question

cells & life
a scientist investigated a type of a bacteria and a type of virus. she added a sample of each to separate dishes. the dishes contained food and other substances living organisms need. after several days, she examined each dish. her observations are in the table below.

	dish with bacteria	dish with virus
food	the amount of food in the dish decreased.	the amount of food in the dish stayed the same.
waste	there are new waste products in the dish.	there are no waste products in the dish.
cells	the dish contains many cells.	there are no cells in the dish.

what do the results of the investigation demonstrate?

○ a. bacteria are living, and viruses are nonliving.
○ b. viruses grow more slowly than bacteria.
○ c. bacteria grow when there is food, but viruses die when there is food.
○ d. viruses only need air to live, but bacteria need food.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze the observations:

• Bacteria: Increased in number, consumed food, produced waste, and are made of cells (all characteristics of living things).
• Viruses: Did not increase in number, did not consume food, did not produce waste, and are not made of cells (indicating non - living characteristics in this context).
• Option B: The virus number stayed the same, not that it grew slowly, so B is wrong.
• Option C: The virus number didn't change, there's no indication it died, so C is wrong.
• Option D: The experiment didn't involve air, and there's no evidence viruses only need air, so D is wrong.
• Option A: The observations support that bacteria are living (showing life processes) and viruses are non - living (not showing life processes here).

Answer:

A. Bacteria are living, and viruses are nonliving.