Deck 1: Antibiotics and Resistance: an Introduction to the Molecules of Life

Question 1

Which biological molecule's role is to store genetic information?

A) MRSA
B) CDC
C) methicillin
D) DNA

Answer 1

D

Question 2

How can the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid be described?

A) double helix
B) icosahedron
C) tetrahedron
D) sphere
E) cylinder

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The word "science" is based on the Latin word for

A) observation.
B) knowledge.
C) reasoning.
D) calculation.
E) logic.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

An informed first attempt to explain an observation is a

A) scientific law.
B) theory.
C) hypothesis.
D) guess.
E) judgement.

Question 5

You notice that bread gets moldy less quickly if it is stored in a refrigerator. This is an example of a(n)

A) hypothesis.
B) theory.
C) scientific law.
D) control experiment.
E) observation.

Question 6

Which is not part of a good scientific investigation?

A) conjecture
B) observation
C) reproducibility
D) hypothesis
E) control experiment

Question 7

If a hypothesis is confirmed by many experiments, it is sometimes elevated to a

A) certainty.
B) fact.
C) law.
D) theory.

Question 8

Choose the best description of a scientific theory.

A) the best scientific explanation currently in existence about the natural world; it has never been disproven by experimental results.
B) An untested idea of how something works
C) An opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of internal bias
D) A statement that summarizes a large number of observations but does not provide an explanation
E) An informed first attempt to explain an observation

Question 9

How can a scientific theory be disproven or replaced?

A) by a prestigious scientist putting forth a new theory
B) by obtaining experimental results inconsistent with those predicted by the theory
C) by agreement among the world's governing bodies
D) Scientific theories change with the times, and old theories are eventually replaced with newer ones.

Question 10

Choose the best description of a scientific law.

A) a statement that summarizes a large number of observations but does not provide an explanation
B) the best scientific explanation currently in existence about the natural world; it has never been disproven by experimental results.
C) a regulation that scientists must adhere to
D) an informed first attempt to explain an observation
E) a decision made by the scientific community about ethical conduct

Question 11

Chemicals that prevent infection by destroying disease-causing bacteria are

A) antibiotics.
B) antediluvians.
C) antiseptics.
D) antivirals.
E) antihistamines.

Question 12

Pharmaceuticals used to treat bacterial infections that have already occurred are

A) antibiotics.
B) antediluvians.
C) antiseptics.
D) antivirals.
E) antihistamines.

Question 13

Ethanol is a molecule, composed of __________ joined by chemical bonds.

A) atoms
B) bacteria
C) viruses
D) electrons
E) amino acids

Question 14

The molecule ethanol kills bacterial cells by

A) making them absorb too much water until they explode.
B) destroying the structure of their cell membrane.
C) disrupting the folding of their proteins.
D) both a and c
E) both b and d

Question 15

A protein is made up of a long chain of

A) cells.
B) DNA.
C) amino acids.
D) alcohols.
E) lipids.

Question 16

Cell membranes are composed of fat-like molecules that do not dissolve easily in water, called

A) amino acids.
B) proteins.
C) bacteria.
D) ribosomes.
E) lipids.

Question 17

Which word describes a protein that is no longer folded into the proper structure that allows it to function?

A) unfurled
B) deactivated
C) unmasked
D) denatured

Question 18

Why is ethanol, which is deadly to bacterial cells, safe to use on our hands?

A) Our skin cells have a different kind of cell wall from that of a bacterial cell.
B) The outer layer of our skin is composed of dead cells and serves as a protective barrier.
C) Ethanol does damage our skin but in such small amounts that we don't feel it.
D) The temperature outside our bodies is not the correct temperature for ethanol to work.
E) Ethanol only reacts with the type of protein found inside a bacterial cell.

Question 19

Choose the word that describes the particular amount of something dissolved in a given volume of solution.

A) strength
B) concentration
C) volumnity
D) solvation
E) ionization

Question 20

Antibacterial soaps may contain

A) penicillin.
B) triclosan.
C) detergent.
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 21

What is a serious limitation of antiseptics like ethanol and triclosan?

A) They are only effective within a certain temperature range.
B) They are expensive to make and take a long time to develop.
C) They cannot be used to treat infections inside the human body.
D) all of the above

Question 22

The first antibiotic to be discovered was

A) amoxicillin.
B) triclosan.
C) Cipro.
D) erythromycin.
E) penicillin.

Question 23

Who discovered penicillin?

A) Dorothy Hodgkin
B) Howard Florey
C) Sanford Fleming
D) Alexander Fleming
E) Louis Pasteur

Question 24

The mold that produces penicillin most commonly grows on

A) fruit.
B) cheese.
C) bread.
D) meat.

Question 25

Why could the original discoverer of penicillin not produce it as a life-saving medicine?

A) He could not isolate it as a pure substance.
B) He could not find a pharmaceutical company that wanted to work with him.
C) War broke out before he could finish his work.
D) Production of penicillin proved too expensive and was abandoned.

Question 26

Who were the scientists that first isolated penicillin and led to its production during World War II?

A) Florey and Fleming
B) Florey and Chain
C) Chain and Hodgkins
D) Chain and Pasteur
E) Pasteur and Florey

Question 27

What was the experimental technique used to determine the molecular structure of penicillin?

A) capillary electrophoresis
B) scanning tunneling microscopy
C) X-ray crystallography
D) infrared spectroscopy

Question 28

Why was it important to determine the molecular structure of penicillin, after it had already been isolated and was being used as a medicine?

A) Knowing the molecular structure could lead to faster production of the drug.
B) The molecular structure could provide clues about how penicillin kills bacteria.
C) Knowing the molecular structure could allow chemists to devise an easier way to produce penicillin.
D) all of the above

Question 29

Which scientist determined penicillin's molecular structure and won a Nobel Prize in 1964?

A) Alexander Fleming
B) Dorothy Hodgkin
C) Linus Pauling
D) Rosalind Franklin

Question 30

Penicillin kills bacteria by

A) disrupting the ability to build their cell wall.
B) dissolving their cell membrane.
C) disrupting the folding of their proteins.
D) causing their DNA to mutate.
E) causing them to dehydrate.

Question 31

Penicillin binds to a(n) _______________ inside bacterial cells.

A) proteome
B) ribosome
C) lipid
D) enzyme
E) amino acid

Question 32

An enzyme is a biological molecule that acts as a

A) cell wall.
B) catalyst.
C) energy storage device.
D) genetic transcriber.
E) messenger.

Question 33

Penicillin is most destructive to bacteria with

A) denatured protein.
B) a thick cell wall.
C) a high water content.
D) a thin cell wall.
E) Penicillin is equally destructive to all bacteria.

Question 34

When a mistake occurs in the copying of genetic material, this gives rise to

A) cell death.
B) sterility.
C) resistance.
D) mutation.
E) disease.

Question 35

Different varieties of the same bacteria, arising from small variations in their DNA are called

A) families.
B) species.
C) races.
D) groups.
E) strains.

Question 36

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are caused by

A) overuse of antibiotics.
B) natural selection.
C) genetic mutation.
D) gene-swapping between bacteria.
E) all of the above

Question 37

Which government body is responsible for scrutinizing each new drug developed, to ensure it is safe to be put on the market?

A) FDA
B) CDC
C) EPA
D) DOT
E) DFT

Question 38

On average, how many years does it take for a new drug to be developed and approved for sale?

A) 3 years
B) 10 years
C) 15 years
D) 25 years

Question 39

Explain the purpose of a control experiment in the scientific method.

Question 40

List three differences between antibiotics and antiseptics

Question 41

List some disadvantages taking antibiotics: