Deck 1: Introduction to Microbes and Their Building Blocks

Question 1

Which group of microorganisms is composed only of hereditary material wrapped in a protein covering?

A) Viruses
B) Bacteria
C) Parasites
D) Fungi
E) Helminths

Answer 1

Viruses

Question 2

The microorganisms that recycle nutrients by breaking down dead matter and wastes are called ________.

A) decomposers
B) prokaryotes
C) pathogens
D) eukaryotes
E) fermenters

Answer 2

decomposers

Question 3

The first cells appeared about ________ billion years ago.

A) 5.2
B) 4.6
C) 3.8
D) 2.9
E) 1.5

Answer 3

3.8

Question 4

When humans manipulate the genes of microorganisms, the process is called ________.

A) bioremediation
B) genetic engineering
C) epidemiology
D) immunology
E) taxonomy

Question 5

Living things ordinarily too small to be seen with the unaided eye are termed ________.

A) bacteria
B) viruses
C) parasites
D) microorganisms
E) prokaryotes

Question 6

Which activity is an example of biotechnology?

A) Bacteria in the soil secreting an antibiotic to kill competitors
B) A microbiologist using the microscope to study bacteria
C) Egyptians using moldy bread on wounds
D) Escherichia coli producing human insulin
E) Public health officials monitoring diseases in a community

Question 7

Using microbes to detoxify a site contaminated with heavy metals is an example of ________.

A) biotechnology
B) bioremediation
C) decomposition
D) immunology
E) epidemiology

Question 8

Which statement correctly compares the sizes of different microorganisms?

A) Bacteria are larger than viruses
B) Bacteria are larger than eukaryotic microorganisms
C) Eukaryotic microorganisms are smaller than viruses
D) Archaea are larger than eukaryotic microorganisms but smaller than bacteria

Question 9

Cells, like bacteria and archaea, that do not have a nucleus in their cells have traditionally been called ________.

A) decomposers
B) prokaryotes
C) pathogens
D) eukaryotes
E) fermenters

Question 10

Which of the following is not considered a microorganism?

A) Mosquito
B) Protozoan
C) Bacterium
D) Virus
E) Fungus

Question 11

Koch's postulates are criteria used to establish that

A) microbes are found on dust particles.
B) a specific microbe is the cause of a specific disease.
C) life forms can only arise from preexisting life forms.
D) a specific microbe should be classified in a specific kingdom.
E) microbes can be used to clean up toxic spills.

Question 12

The most prevalent worldwide infectious diseases are ________.

A) AIDS-related diseases
B) diarrheal diseases
C) malaria diseases
D) measles
E) respiratory diseases

Question 13

Sterility refers to

A) being pathogen free.
B) having an absence of spores.
C) having an absence of any life forms and viral particles.
D) being pasteurized.
E) being homogenized.

Question 14

Which of the following is a unique characteristic of viruses that distinguishes them from the other major groups of microorganisms?

A) Cause human disease
B) Lack a nucleus
C) Cannot be seen without a microscope
D) Contain genetic material
E) Lack cell structure

Question 15

Which of the following is not a human use of microorganisms?

A) Making bread
B) Treating water and sewage
C) Manufacturing copper wire
D) Mass producing antibiotics
E) Cleaning up oil spills

Question 16

Disease-causing microorganisms are called ________.

A) decomposers
B) prokaryotes
C) pathogens
D) eukaryotes
E) fermenters

Question 17

All microorganisms are best defined as organisms that ________.

A) cause human disease
B) lack a cell nucleus
C) are infectious particles
D) are too small to be seen with the unaided eye
E) can only be found growing in laboratories

Question 18

Helminths are ________.

A) bacteria
B) protozoa
C) molds
D) parasitic worms
E) infectious particles

Question 19

The Dutch merchant who made and used quality magnifying lenses to see and record microorganisms was ________.

A) Francesco Redi
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Louis Pasteur
D) Joseph Lister
E) Robert Koch

Question 20

The surgeon who advocated using disinfectants on hands and in the air prior to surgery was ________.

A) Joseph Lister
B) Ignaz Semmelweis
C) Robert Koch
D) Louis Pasteur
E) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Question 21

Which scientist showed that anthrax was caused by the bacterium, Bacillus anthracis?

A) Joseph Lister
B) Ignaz Semmelweis
C) Robert Koch
D) Louis Pasteur
E) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Question 22

Select the correct descending taxonomic hierarchy:

A) family, order, class
B) family, genus, species
C) genus, species, family
D) class, phylum, order
E) kingdom, domain, phylum

Question 23

Which area of biology states that living things undergo gradual, structural, and functional changes over long periods of time?

A) Morphology
B) Phylogeny
C) Evolution
D) Genetics
E) None of the choices is correct.

Question 24

A scientist studying the sequence of nucleotides in the rRNA of a bacterial species is working on ________.

A) determining evolutionary relatedness
B) bioremediation
C) recombinant DNA
D) nomenclature
E) determining if that species is the cause of a new disease

Question 25

All microorganisms are considered pathogens.

Question 26

The scientist(s) who proposed organisms be assigned to one of three domains is(are) ________.

A) Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Carl Woese and George Fox
D) Robert Whittaker
E) Francesco Redi

Question 27

Which of the following is a taxon that contains all the other taxa listed?

A) Species
B) Phylum
C) Kingdom
D) Genus
E) Family

Question 28

Taxonomy does not involve ________.

A) nomenclature
B) classification
C) taxa
D) identification
E) common name

Question 29

The orderly arrangement of organisms into a hierarchy of taxa is called ________.

A) classification
B) identification
C) nomenclature
D) experimentation
E) biotechnology

Question 30

The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms is called ________,

A) biotechnology
B) genetics
C) recombinant DNA
D) phylogeny
E) taxonomy

Question 31

A scientific theory, like the theory of evolution, is just our best guess at explaining a scientific phenomenon, but a theory cannot be considered fact.

Question 32

If you were a microbiologist in 1950, which of the following scientific principles would you already know?

A) Aseptic techniques could reduce the number of wound infections in the surgical setting.
B) Biofilms can form on implanted objects in the human body and be responsible for infection.
C) Enzymes found in bacteria can be used to cut DNA.
D) Very little DNA is transcribed into RNA that is then translated into proteins.

Question 33

Which scientific field is involved in the identification, classification, and naming of organisms?

A) Nomenclature
B) Taxonomy
C) Phylogeny
D) Woesean classification
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 34

Which of the following is a scientific name?

A) Gram-positive streptococcus
B) Staphylococcus
C) Streptococcus pyogenes
D) Anthrax
E) Streptobacilli

Question 35

The smallest and most significant taxon is ________.

A) genus
B) species
C) kingdom
D) family
E) phylum

Question 36

Which scientific name is written correctly?

A) Staphylococcus Aureus
B) staphylococcus Aureus
C) STaphylococcus Aureus
D) Staphylococcus aureus
E) STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Question 37

Many chronic conditions are found to be associated with microbial agents.

Question 38

When assigning a scientific name to an organism,

A) the species name is capitalized.
B) the species name is placed first.
C) the species name can be abbreviated.
D) both genus and species names are capitalized.
E) both genus and species names are italicized or underlined.

Question 39

Current evidence indicates that bacteria and archaea existed on earth for approximately 2 billion years before eukaryotes appeared.

Question 40

A scientist studying helminths is working with bacteria.

Question 41

The lipid group that is the major component of cell membranes is the ________.

A) prostaglandins
B) waxes
C) phospholipids
D) steroids
E) triglycerides

Question 42

All of the following are lipids except ________.

A) cholesterol
B) starch
C) phospholipid
D) wax
E) triglyceride

Question 43

All of the following are monosaccharides except ________.

A) glucose
B) glycogen
C) fructose
D) ribose
E) deoxyribose

Question 44

Most biochemical macromolecules are polymers, which are chains of ________.

A) hydrophobic molecules
B) electrolytic molecules
C) repeating monomers
D) repeating carbohydrates
E) hydrogen bonds

Question 45

One distinguishing characteristic of the archaebacteria is that they live in extreme environments.

Question 46

The names of the three domains are: Bacteria, Protista, and Eukarya (Eukaryota).

Question 47

Viruses are not classified in any of Whittaker's five kingdoms.

Question 48

Organic chemicals always have a basic framework of the element ________ bonded to other atoms.

A) carbon
B) nitrogen
C) oxygen
D) hydrogen
E) phosphorous

Question 49

All of the following are polysaccharides except

A) glycogen in liver and muscle.
B) agar used to make solid culture media.
C) a cell's glycocalyx.
D) cellulose in certain cell walls.
E) prostaglandins in inflammation.

Question 50

Once an organism is assigned to a particular taxonomic hierarchy, it is permanent and cannot be revised.

Question 51

Microbes have been found existing in salty, acidic lakes.

Question 52

Which is not true about enzymes?

A) They are found in all cells.
B) They are catalysts.
C) Their shape determines their function.
D) They can be denaturated by heat and other agents.
E) They have high-energy bonds between phosphates.

Question 53

A fat is called ________ if all carbons of the fatty acid chain are single bonded to two other carbons and two hydrogens.

A) unsaturated
B) polyunsaturated
C) monounsaturated
D) saturated
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 54

The lipid group that serves as energy storage molecules is ________.

A) prostaglandins
B) waxes
C) phospholipids
D) steroids
E) triglycerides

Question 55

The building blocks of an enzyme are ________.

A) nucleotides
B) glycerol and fatty acids
C) monosaccharides
D) phosphate, glycerol, and fatty acids
E) amino acids

Question 56

What type of bonds are formed between adjacent amino acids?

A) Glycosilic
B) Ester
C) Peptide
D) Disulfide
E) Phosphate

Question 57

The term sterile means free of all life forms.

Question 58

What part of a phospholipid forms hydrophobic tails?

A) Fatty acids
B) Glycerol
C) Phosphate
D) Alcohol
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 59

Members of the same species share many more characteristics compared to those shared by members of the same kingdom.

Question 60

Which amino acid contains sulfur atoms that form covalent disulfide bonds in its tertiary structure?

A) Valine
B) Cysteine
C) Serine
D) Alanine
E) Tyrosine

Question 61

Which of the following statements correctly determines the process when following the scientific method?

A) Formulate question, conduct research, propose hypothesis, test hypothesis
B) Propose hypothesis, test hypothesis, formulate question, conduct research
C) Formulate question, propose hypothesis, test hypothesis, conduct research
D) Conduct research, formulate question, propose hypothesis, test hypothesis

Question 62

One nucleotide contains ________.

A) one phosphate
B) one pentose sugar
C) one nitrogen base
D) All of the choices are correct
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 63

Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding the relationship between humans and microbes?

A) The majority of microorganisms that colonize humans are pathogenic
B) Microorganisms are benefited from their colonization of humans, whereas humans are unaffected by the relationship
C) Humans are colonized by bacteria and fungi, but not viruses
D) Not only do the majority of colonizing bacteria cause no harm to humans, the relationship is beneficial for both microbe and human host

Question 64

The purine_______ always binds with the pyrimidine_______ in DNA and RNA.

A) guanine, cytosine
B) cytosine, guanine
C) adenine, guanine
D) thymine, guanine

Question 65

The alpha helix is a type of ________ protein structure.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) quaternary
E) None of the choices is correct.

Question 66

During protein synthesis, ________ RNA is made as a copy of a gene from DNA.

A) transfer
B) messenger
C) ribosomal
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 67

Which list correctly ranks the microorganisms from largest to smallest?

A) Zika virus, Bacillus anthracis, Aspergillis sp., Helminth
B) Aspergillis sp., Zika virus, Bacillus anthracis, Helminth
C) Bacillus anthracis, Helminth, Aspergillis sp., Zika virus
D) Helminth, Aspergillis sp., Bacillus anthracis, Zika virus
E) Helminth, Aspergillis sp., Zika virus, Bacillus anthracis,

Question 68

Which pertains to DNA but not to RNA?

A) Contains ribose
B) Contains adenine
C) Contains thymine
D) Contains uracil
E) Contains nucleotides

Question 69

The Nobel Prize was awarded to Kary Mullis in 1993 for inventing what technique to amplify and subsequently analyze DNA?

A) Polymerase chain reaction
B) The central dogma of biology
C) Restriction enzyme analysis
D) Human microbiome project
E) Small RNA analysis

Question 70

The acceptance or rejection of a hypothesis is based on a series of educated guesses and opinions. Once the opinion is widely accepted it becomes a theory.

Question 71

Which of the following is not a pyrimidine?

A) Uracil
B) Adenine
C) Thymine
D) Cytosine
E) All of these are pyrimidines.

Question 72

The most important outcome of polypeptide intrachain bonding and folding is the unique shape of the protein.

Question 73

Nucleic acids have primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels of organization.

Question 74

If a hypothesis is accepted, then the findings become a scientific law.

Question 75

A student forgot to label a beaker containing a DNA solution and a beaker containing a glucose solution. If chemical analysis was performed to identify the contents of each beaker, which of the following would be found in the beaker of DNA but not in the beaker with glucose?

A) Amino acids
B) Hydrogen and oxygen atoms
C) Nitrogen and phosphorus
D) Fatty acids
E) Carbon atoms

Question 76

Purines and pyrimidines are components in the building block units of all ________.

A) nucleic acids
B) carbohydrates
C) polysaccharides
D) amino acids
E) enzymes

Question 77

You are trying to identify a chemical that consists of adenine, ribose, and three phosphates. What is this chemical?

A) DNA
B) RNA
C) ATP
D) Phospholipid

Question 78

All proteins are enzymes.

Question 79

ATP is best described as ________.

A) an enzyme
B) a double helix
C) an electron carrier
D) the energy molecule of cells
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 80

Characteristics shared by all cells include

A) a membrane serving as a cell boundary.
B) the possession of genetic information.
C) the presence of cellular fluid.
D) All of these choices are correct.