Which term describes the length of time a microbial species needs in order to divide?

The correct answer is - generation Time.

Explanation:

Generation time is the average time between 2 generations that are come one after another in the ancestry of a species or population. In microbiology, the generation time is also similar but define as the time a microbe such as bacteria takes for the population or species to divide to double or doubling time.

The generation time of the microbes like bacteria varies from 12 minutes up to 24 hours whereas generation time of coliform's generation time is 12 to 24 hours.

Thus, the correct answer is - generation time.