Answer:
289 × 10 ⁷ colony-forming units/gram
Explanation:
Given that;
Three grams of soil were added to 27 ml of sterile water; ----- Let that be A
We would notice from the above statement that 3 grams of soil that was added was equivalent to 1:10 dilution of the sample
After settling of soil particles;
0.1 ml of this was added to 9.9 ml of sterile water.------------- Let that be B
Furthermore,
4 successive 1/10 (1:10) dilutions takes place ------------- Let that be C
NOW, the total dilution we have = 10 ⁻⁷
The question proceeds by saying; One ml from the last dilution was used to prepare a pour plate and After incubation, 289 colonies were present on this plate.
∴ the number of colony-forming units/gram of the soil =
= [tex]\frac{289}{TotalDilutions}[/tex]
= [tex]\frac{289}{10^{-7}}[/tex]
= 289 × 10 ⁷ colony-forming units/gram