Question 1

The X-ray diffraction studies by which of the following scientists concluded that DNA was a double helix?

Accepted Answer

A)  James Watson 
B)  Rosalind Franklin 
C)  Francis Crick 
D)  Maurice Wilkins 
E)  Kary Mullis 
A)  James Watson 
B)  Rosalind Franklin 
C)  Francis Crick 
D)  Maurice Wilkins 
E)  Kary Mullis

Question 2

What are the primary producers of major food webs?

Accepted Answer

A)  plants 
B)  microbes 
C)  animals 
D)  fungi 
E)  viruses 
A)  plants 
B)  microbes 
C)  animals 
D)  fungi 
E)  viruses

Question 3

Which scientist first discovered the process of transformation?

Accepted Answer

A)  Francis Crick 
B)  Robert Koch 
C)  Edward Jenner 
D)  Louis Pasteur 
E)  Frederick Griffith 
A)  Francis Crick 
B)  Robert Koch 
C)  Edward Jenner 
D)  Louis Pasteur 
E)  Frederick Griffith

Question 4

Which types of compounds have a strong tendency to accept electrons?

Accepted Answer

A)  oxidized 
B)  reduced 
C)  neutral 
D)  protons 
E)  neutrons 
A)  oxidized 
B)  reduced 
C)  neutral 
D)  protons 
E)  neutrons

Question 5

You have isolated a bacterium that you believe to be the causative agent of a new disease in frogs. How would you test the third of Koch's postulates?

Accepted Answer

A)  Determine the shape of the bacterial cells. 
B)  Inject the bacteria into a healthy frog. 
C)  Isolate the bacterium from a sick frog. 
D)  Show that the bacterium is NOT present in healthy frogs. 
E)  Grow a pure culture of the bacterium outside the frog. 
A)  Determine the shape of the bacterial cells. 
B)  Inject the bacteria into a healthy frog. 
C)  Isolate the bacterium from a sick frog. 
D)  Show that the bacterium is NOT present in healthy frogs. 
E)  Grow a pure culture of the bacterium outside the frog.

Question 6

Which of the following organelles are thought to be of prokaryotic origin?

Accepted Answer

A)  chloroplast 
B)  mitochondria 
C)  nucleus 
D)  chloroplast and mitochondria 
E)  chloroplast and nucleus 
A)  chloroplast 
B)  mitochondria 
C)  nucleus 
D)  chloroplast and mitochondria 
E)  chloroplast and nucleus

Question 7

The word "vaccination" is derived from the Latin word vacca, which means:

Accepted Answer

A)  inject 
B)  smallpox 
C)  immunize 
D)  cow 
E)  pustule 
A)  inject 
B)  smallpox 
C)  immunize 
D)  cow 
E)  pustule

Question 8

A human body contains __________ times as many microbes as it does human cells.

Accepted Answer

A)  2 
B)  5 
C)  10 
D)  50 
E)  100 
A)  2 
B)  5 
C)  10 
D)  50 
E)  100

Question 9

All of the following are true about penicillin EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  It was discovered by Alexander Fleming. 
B)  It was an accidental discovery. 
C)  It is produced by a bacterium. 
D)  It was the first antibiotic used by humans. 
E)  It was purified by Florey and Chain. 
A)  It was discovered by Alexander Fleming. 
B)  It was an accidental discovery. 
C)  It is produced by a bacterium. 
D)  It was the first antibiotic used by humans. 
E)  It was purified by Florey and Chain.

Question 10

How would you use Robert Koch's postulates to prove that a specific organism causes a new disease in mice?

Accepted Answer

1. The suspected organism is found in al

Question 11

Briefly explain the endosymbiosis theory and the evidence that supports it.

Accepted Answer

The endosymbiosis theory proposes that m

Question 12

How are prokaryotes and eukaryotes different?

Accepted Answer

A prokaryote lacks a nucleus a

Question 13

Bacteria that produce enzymes used in the polymerase chain reaction were isolated from:

Accepted Answer

A)  lake water 
B)  ocean 
C)  soil 
D)  intestines 
E)  hot springs 
A)  lake water 
B)  ocean 
C)  soil 
D)  intestines 
E)  hot springs

Question 14

Is it true that only culturable bacteria contribute to ecology and pathology? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

No, this is not a true statement. It is

Question 15

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek worked as a cloth draper, inspecting the quality of cloth. How did this lead to his interest in microscopy?

Accepted Answer

Briefly, his work introduced h

Question 16

It took the advent of the PCR to detect the presence of the causative agent for which disease?

Accepted Answer

A)  anthrax 
B)  tuberculosis 
C)  AIDS 
D)  rabies 
E)  smallpox 
A)  anthrax 
B)  tuberculosis 
C)  AIDS 
D)  rabies 
E)  smallpox

Question 17

Why did it take so long for humans to determine that microbes cause infectious diseases?

Accepted Answer

Microbes are too small to be seen with t

Question 18

In the three-domain model, the bacterial ancestor of mitochondria derives from ancient:

Accepted Answer

A)  fungi 
B)  cyanobacteria 
C)  proteobacteria 
D)  archaea 
E)  protists 
A)  fungi 
B)  cyanobacteria 
C)  proteobacteria 
D)  archaea 
E)  protists

Question 19

The environment of early Earth may have contained all EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  ferrous iron 
B)  methane 
C)  ammonia 
D)  oxygen 
E)  hydrogen gas 
A)  ferrous iron 
B)  methane 
C)  ammonia 
D)  oxygen 
E)  hydrogen gas

Question 20

The presence of __________ on Mars today would increase the chance that microbial life exists there.

Accepted Answer

A)  liquid water 
B)  oxygen 
C)  nitrogen gas 
D)  ammonia 
E)  DNA 
A)  liquid water 
B)  oxygen 
C)  nitrogen gas 
D)  ammonia 
E)  DNA

Exam 1: Microbial Life: Origin and Discovery

The X-ray diffraction studies by which of the following scientists concluded that DNA was a double helix?

What are the primary producers of major food webs?

Which scientist first discovered the process of transformation?

Which types of compounds have a strong tendency to accept electrons?

You have isolated a bacterium that you believe to be the causative agent of a new disease in frogs. How would you test the third of Koch's postulates?

Which of the following organelles are thought to be of prokaryotic origin?

The word "vaccination" is derived from the Latin word vacca, which means:

A human body contains __________ times as many microbes as it does human cells.

All of the following are true about penicillin EXCEPT:

How would you use Robert Koch's postulates to prove that a specific organism causes a new disease in mice?

Briefly explain the endosymbiosis theory and the evidence that supports it.

How are prokaryotes and eukaryotes different?

Bacteria that produce enzymes used in the polymerase chain reaction were isolated from:

Is it true that only culturable bacteria contribute to ecology and pathology? Explain your answer.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek worked as a cloth draper, inspecting the quality of cloth. How did this lead to his interest in microscopy?

It took the advent of the PCR to detect the presence of the causative agent for which disease?

Why did it take so long for humans to determine that microbes cause infectious diseases?

In the three-domain model, the bacterial ancestor of mitochondria derives from ancient:

The environment of early Earth may have contained all EXCEPT:

The presence of __________ on Mars today would increase the chance that microbial life exists there.

Observing the Microbial Cell

Cell Structure and Function

Bacterial Culture, Growth, and Development

Environmental Influences and Control of Microbial Growth

Virus Structure and Function

Genomes and Chromosomes

Transcription, Translation, and Bioinformatics

Gene Transfer, Mutations, and Genome Evolution

Molecular Regulation

Viral Molecular Biology

Molecular Techniques and Biotechnology

Energetics and Catabolism

Respiration, Lithotrophy, and Photolysis

Biosynthesis

Food and Industrial Microbiology

Origins and Evolution

Bacterial Diversity

Archaeal Diversity

Eukaryotic Diversity

Microbial Ecology

Microbes and the Global Environment

Human Microbiota and Nonspecific Host Defenses

The Adaptive Immune Response

Microbial Pathogenesis

Microbial Diseases

Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Clinical Microbiology and Epidemiology

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