Concept explainers
To explain: The rationale for selecting E. coli as the indicator of water potability.
Introduction: Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotic organisms that maintain a definite shape since they contain a rigid cell wall. They are classified into different types based on the structure, namely, coccus (spherical shaped), bacillus (rod-shaped), filamentous, spirilla (spiral-shaped), appendaged, and pleomorphic bacteria. Based on the
Explanation of Solution
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a Gram-negative, motile bacterium commonly seen in the intestine of human beings. Some E. coli strains are opportunistic in nature, however, some strains are harmful can cause diarrhea in humans. They are used as the indicator of water potability since they are usually present in the feces of human beings. The presence of this micro-organism shows the contamination of water with feces. Hence, they are used as an indicator to check the purity of water.
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Chapter 11 Solutions
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