Deck 1: Microorganisms and Microbiology

Question 1

The largest mass of living material on Earth comes from

A) microorganisms.
B) animals.
C) plants and animals together.
D) plants.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Fannie Hesse is credited with giving the idea to use agar as a solidifying agent.

A) Sergei Winogradsky
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Robert Koch
D) Ferdinand Cohn

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a major ecosystem?

A) aquatic
B) other organisms, such as plants and animals
C) atmospheric
D) terrestrial

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A Pasteur flask has a(n)

A) secondary opening at the base to allow for drainage.
B) swan neck to prevent particulate matter from getting into the main body of the flask.
C) double neck so two substances may be added at the same time.
D) inverted upper edge to prevent spillage while swirling.

Question 5

Which statement is generally NOT true?

A) Microbial cells carry out their life processes of growth independently.
B) Microbial cells exclude the cells of plants and animals.
C) Microbial cells include both bacteria and viruses.
D) Microbial cells exist as single cells.

Question 6

A specific molecule, used especially by evolutionary biologists, that is unique to a particular taxonomical group is called a

A) biomarker.
B) metabolic tracer.
C) taxon.
D) genome.

Question 7

Louis Pasteur's most famous success was his work on

A) Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
B) optical isomers.
C) the rabies vaccine.
D) fermentation in the winemaking process.

Question 8

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is very difficult to stain because of the

A) presence of ribosomes in the cytoplasm.
B) large amounts of a waxy lipid present in its cell wall.
C) location of the DNA within the cell.
D) lack of a cell wall.

Question 9

Microbial control in wastewaters would most logically be a part of

A) microbial technology.
B) bacterial energetics.
C) aquatic microbiology.
D) microbial genetics.

Question 10

Microorganisms play key roles in the cycling of important nutrients in plant nutrition, particularly those of

A) sulfur.
B) carbon.
C) carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.
D) nitrogen.

Question 11

In what/which domain(s) of life is/are microorganisms represented?

A) Bacteria
B) Eukarya
C) Archaea
D) all of the above

Question 12

Microbes playing a role in nitrogen fixation in plants live in , while those playing a role in the digestive tract of certain herbivores live in _ .

A) rumens / nodules
B) fortrans / rumens
C) nodules / fortrans
D) nodules / rumens

Question 13

Which part of the human body does not contain a significant normal microbial flora?

A) skin
B) stomach
C) large intestine
D) oral cavity

Question 14

Most prokaryotic cells reside

A) in lakes, rivers, and oceans.
B) in and on nonprokaryotic organisms (including humans and other animals).
C) in the oceanic and terrestrial subsurfaces.
D) on Earth's surface.

Question 15

Microbial sterilization is used to

A) clean a work area.
B) kill all microbes in or on objects.
C) decrease the possibility of contaminants growing in a culture.
D) kill bacteria but not necessarily viruses or other microbes.

Question 16

Martinus Beijerinck was the first to isolate

A) certain nitrogen- fixing root nodule bacteria.
B) green algae.
C) certain sulfate- reducing bacteria.
D) all of the above.

Question 17

The person who described the "wee animalcules" was

A) Ferdinand Cohn.
B) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
C) Louis Pasteur.
D) Robert Hooke.

Question 18

Differential selection and reproduction of phenotypes occurs during a process called

A) transformation.
B) cellular differentiation.
C) growth.
D) evolution.

Question 19

The discovery of antibiotics and other important chemicals led to the field of

A) marine microbiology.
B) industrial microbiology.
C) aquatic microbiology.
D) agricultural microbiology.

Question 20

Which statement is TRUE?

A) Microbial communities are assemblages of populations.
B) Populations are assemblages of microbial communities.
C) Habitats are assemblages of microbial communities.
D) Populations are assemblages of habitats.

Question 21

Transparent double- sided dishes used for growing microbes are most commonly called

A) culture medium plates.
B) baker dishes.
C) Petri dishes.
D) sterilization plates.

Question 22

Basic microbiology can be used to

A) study characteristics of cells of multicellular organisms.
B) probe the fundamental processes of life.
C) model our understanding of cellular processes in multicellular organisms, including humans.
D) do all of the above.

Question 23

Louis Pasteur developed the vaccine(s) for

A) anthrax.
B) rabies.
C) fowl cholera.
D) all of the above.

Question 24

Developments in the fields of immunology and medical microbiology were practical extensions of the work of

A) Sergei Winogradsky.
B) Robert Koch.
C) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
D) Joseph Lister.

Question 25

The discoveries of Martinus Beijerinck and Sergei Winogradsky led to practical advances in the field of .

Question 26

A pure culture

A) is a population of identical cells.
B) was cultured for a certified stock culture.
C) is sterile.
D) is made of a clearly defined chemical medium.

Question 27

Regarding early life on Earth,

A) microbial life, plant life, and animal life all appeared at about the same time.
B) microbial life existed for billions of years before plant and animal life.
C) microbial life existed long before animals but has been around for about the same amount of time as plants.
D) it is impossible to determine which type of life first appeared.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT an accomplishment of Louis Pasteur?

A) developed enrichment culture techniques
B) determined that the alcohol- making process was mediated by microbial fermentation and thus refuted the theory of spontaneous generation
C) developed heat sterilization techniques that involved the creation of a specialized swan- necked flask
D) developed the first rabies vaccine and treated thousands of individuals

Question 29

Robert Koch's greatest accomplishment in the field of medical bacteriology was with

A) Bacillus subtilis.
B) Bacillus cereus.
C) Escherichia coli.
D) Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Question 30

Robert Koch contributed to the field of microbiology by being the first person to

A) formulate four postulates for definitively linking a specific microorganism to a specific disease.
B) develop the tuberculin test.
C) use agar as a solidifying agent in growth media.
D) all of the above.

Question 31

The process whereby microorganisms are used to help clean up pollution created by human activities is known as .

Question 32

produced by microbial fermentation of glucose from sugarcane or cornstarch is becoming a more important component of biofuels in the United States, and specialized
microbiologists are needed to make this a commercially available product.

Question 33

The theory of spontaneous generation was refuted by the work of

A) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
B) Robert Koch.
C) Robert Hooke.
D) Louis Pasteur.

Question 34

Which of the following is/are characteristic of cellular organisms?

A) regeneration and reproduction
B) metabolism
C) communication
D) all of the above

Question 35

Protein catalysts involved in the acceleration of the rate of chemical reactions are called

A) enzymes.
B) evolutionary molecules.
C) catalytic converters.
D) growth agents.

Question 36

The structure that confers structural strength on the cell is known as the

A) cell wall.
B) ribosome.
C) cytoplasm.
D) cytoplasmic membrane.

Question 37

Microbial ecology is the study of

A) microbial processes in the soil that benefit plant growth.
B) the diversity and activities of marine microorganisms.
C) microorganisms in their natural environments.
D) the grouping and classifying of microorganisms.

Question 38

The science of grouping and classifying microorganisms is known as

A) microbial physiology.
B) proteomics.
C) microbial systematics.
D) metabolomics.

Question 39

Applied microbiology deals with important practical problems in

A) industry.
B) agriculture.
C) medicine.
D) all of the above.

Question 40

Chemolithotrophy involves

A) metabolic autotrophy.
B) oxidation of inorganic compounds.
C) oxidation of organic compounds.
D) reduction of organic compounds.

Question 41

The is the fundamental unit of life.

Question 42

described the first virus and the basic principles of virology.

Question 43

Bioremediation _ by introducing pollutant- consuming microorganisms or specific nutrients that help microorganisms degrade pollutants.

Question 44

The first documented description of a microorganism was of a _ by _ .

Question 45

A population of identical cells is known as a(n) .

Question 46

was the first to describe microorganisms, while was the first person to see bacteria.

Question 47

An ecosystem could be defined as _ along with their _ .

Question 48

A microbial cell's membrane is considered _ _, because its internal constituents are maintained within the cell, however it also imports and exports other molecules in response to its environment.

Question 49

The disease anthrax is caused by the pathogenic bacterium , which produces heat- resistant structures known as .

Question 50

DNA sequencing to study organisms' entire nucleotide sequences initially brought about the field of , which has itself spawned the subdisciplines of _ and
that represent more functional- based approaches.

Question 51

Some microorganisms can undergo in which various cell types can become specialized and arise from one parent cell type.

Question 52

Metabolism is common to all cellular organisms.

Question 53

Groups of cells derived from a single parent cell by successive cell divisions are known as
and which live in environments known as .

Question 54

Sergei Winogradsky worked with bacteria involved in cycling nitrogen and sulfur.

Question 55

Microbial biochemistry involves the discovery of and the .

Question 56

Cyanobacteria and purple bacteria both obtain energy from light, however only the
are capable of releasing .

Question 57

The three major bioenergy products of microorganisms are , _, and
.

Question 58

was the first to identify a new form of autotrophy in which energy is obtained from oxidizing inorganic compounds called .

Question 59

Robert Koch received the 1905 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for .

Question 60

According to our present understanding, each of the major domains has what is known as its own universal ancestor.

Question 61

Compare and contrast the leading causes of death in 1900 with the leading causes of death today. What roles have microbiologists played in the dramatic changes that are evident?

Question 62

Marine microorganisms likely control many important global parameters, including climate and atmospheric chemistry.

Question 63

The environment in which a microbial population lives is its habitat.

Question 64

Smallpox is a major killer in parts of the developing world.

Question 65

Explain why infectious diseases are much less lethal in developed countries than in underdeveloped countries.

Question 66

Explain how you would use Robert Koch's postulates to determine that Streptococcus pyogenes is the causative agent of streptococcal pharyngitis ("strep throat").

Question 67

Describe two capabilities of microbes that exemplify their dynamic nature.

Question 68

Treponema pallidum, a bacterium associated with syphilis, is not considered a pathogen because to date it remains unculturable in the lab, and, therefore, Koch's postulates are unable to be fulfilled.

Question 69

Microbiology as a distinct science did not develop until the eighteenth century.

Question 70

Using specific examples, explain why it is sometimes impossible to satisfy Robert Koch's postulates.

Question 71

How would the presence of endospores in Louis Pasteur's nutrient solutions have affected his conclusions about spontaneous generation?

Question 72

Why is it incorrect to say that an object is partially sterile?

Question 73

Most microorganisms are pathogenic.

Question 74

All microorganisms require molecular oxygen to carry on life functions.

Question 75

The discipline of microbiology is intimately associated with biochemistry and genetics, because cells are both biochemical catalysts and genetic coding devices.

Question 76

The text states that antibiotics are derived from microorganisms. What is the benefit to an antibiotic- producing microorganism of producing an antibiotic in its natural habitat?

Question 77

Differentiation occurs only in multicellular organisms.

Question 78

Describe beneficial and harmful ways in which microorganisms interact with agricultural crops.

Question 79

Explain the nature and function of an enrichment culture.

Question 80

Without microorganisms, all higher life forms on Earth would cease to exist.