Ans. a. The relative sparseness of growth in plates exposed to UV radiation indicates that UV radiation inhibits the growth of given bacteria. The plate kept screened off from (not exposed to) UV radiation shows normal growth. UV radiation may cause mutations (thymine dimers) in the genome of cell (all types of cell including bacteria). If the extent of DNA damage is beyond repair, the cell dies. Note: different cells may exhibit differential sensitivity towards UV radiation. Ans. b. Each colony in the plate is assumed to arise from a single cell. Under optimum cultural conditions, the single bacterial cell on media undergoes repeated cell. Since bacteria have a relatively low generation time (20 minutes to few hours, generally), one cell is capable of developing into a visible colony within 24 hours or so of incubation time. Solution Ans. a. The relative sparseness of growth in plates exposed to UV radiation indicates that UV radiation inhibits the growth of given bacteria. The plate kept screened off from (not exposed to) UV radiation shows normal growth. UV radiation may cause mutations (thymine dimers) in the genome of cell (all types of cell including bacteria). If the extent of DNA damage is beyond repair, the cell dies. Note: different cells may exhibit differential sensitivity towards UV radiation. Ans. b. Each colony in the plate is assumed to arise from a single cell. Under optimum cultural conditions, the single bacterial cell on media undergoes repeated cell. Since bacteria have a relatively low generation time (20 minutes to few hours, generally), one cell is capable of developing into a visible colony within 24 hours or so of incubation time..