Question

What is an advantage of performing a series of dilutions vs. a simple dilution?

Answer 1

In this case, the main advantage of making a series of dilutions is the sensitivity that you will obtain. Making a serial dilution will allow you to determinate which concentrations works best in your experiment. In the case of bacteria, it is highly important to make serial dilutions in order to obtain a countable number of colonies in a plate.

Generally, a simple dilution is used to prepare a substance that you already know that works at that specific concentration.