You wish to determine the concentration of bacteria in a liquid sample. You measure the concentration by direct microscopic observation and by the plate count technique. Which method would give you a more accurate count of viable (i. e. living) bacteria in the sample

The correct answer to the question above is "PLATE COUNT TECHNIQUE"

Explanation:

DIRECT MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATION is the method of estimating the number of microorganism using microscope. Samples to be estimated are placed on microscope slides which allow few cells in a small volume to be counted. Then, the value determined is used to estimate the total number of cells mathematically. It is only difficult to aee small cells which may affect precision.

VIABLE COUNT is the estimation of the living cells in a given sample.

PLATE COUNT TECHNIQUE is used to estimate the number of viable cells that are present in a given sample of actively growing or dividing cells based on bacteria cells found on agar plate. A sample to be counted is diluted in a solution that will not kill the microorganisms, this is done to enable accurate counting as only living bacteria will be counted.