1. How would you determine if a zone of inhibition was due to the bacteriocidal (killing) or bacteriostatic (growth inhibiting) action of an antimicrobial?

2. Sometimes, one observes a few bacterial colonies growing within a zone of inhibition. How would you explain this? How would you conclusively prove your hypothesis?

3. How do antibiotics differ from other natural products of microbes such as lactic acid, acetic acid, ethanol and others?

4. How are new antibiotics discovered? What properties must they possess in order to be more desirable than previously discovered antibiotics?

….