Chapter 1 Test Bank
Chapter 1 Test Bank
Chapter 1 Test Bank
3) Differential selection and decent with modification occurs during a process called
A) cellular differentiation.
B) evolution.
C) growth.
D) transformation.
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
5) Biological catalysts involved in the acceleration of the rate of chemical reactions are called
A) catalytic converters.
B) growth agents.
C) evolutionary molecules.
D) enzymes.
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
8) Walther Hesse and ________ pioneered the use of agar as a solidifying agent.
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Ferdinand Cohn
C) Robert Koch
D) Sergei Winogradsky
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
10) Deduce why viruses are excluded from the ribosomal RNA-based tree of life.
A) Some viruses contain multiple strands of RNA.
B) Their genetic elements cannot be sequenced.
C) They can infect other organisms, which complicates the genetic comparisons.
D) They lack ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.15
Learning Objective: 1.IV
12) The discovery of antibiotics and other important chemicals led to the field of
A) industrial microbiology.
B) agricultural microbiology.
C) marine microbiology.
D) aquatic microbiology.
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
14) Transparent double-sided dishes used for growing microbes are most commonly called
A) Petri dishes.
B) baker dishes.
C) sterilization plates.
D) culture medium plates.
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
15) 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) nodules / rumens
C) nodules / fortrans
D) fortrans / rumens
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
19) Predict how Pasteur's conclusions on spontaneous generation with swan flasks would have
changed if he worked with and maintained the flasks in a sterile laminar flow hood.
A) Sterilization of the swan flask solutions would not have been necessary to reject spontaneous
generation. If he did sterilize the flasks, the spontaneous generation hypothesis would have been
supported.
B) His incubation times would not have been sufficient to refute spontaneous generation.
C) Pasteur's flasks never would have putrefied, and the experiment would not have refuted
spontaneous generation.
D) Viruses would have still been present, and his conclusion would have been unchanged.
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.11
Learning Objective: 1.III
23) Developments in the fields of immunology and medical microbiology were practical
extensions of the work of
A) Sergei Winogradsky.
B) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
C) Joseph Lister.
D) Robert Koch.
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
25) Robert Koch contributed to the field of microbiology by being the first person to
A) develop the tuberculin test only.
B) formulate four postulates for definitively linking a specific microorganism to a specific
disease only.
C) use agar as a solidifying agent in growth media only.
D) develop the tuberculin test, formulate four postulates for definitively linking a specific
microorganism to a specific disease, and use agar as a solidifying agent in growth media.
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
28) Microorganisms play key roles in the cycling of important nutrients in plant nutrition,
particularly those of
A) carbon only.
B) nitrogen only.
C) sulfur only.
D) carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
30) The structure that confers structural strength on the cell is known as the
A) cytoplasmic membrane.
B) cell wall.
C) ribosome.
D) cytoplasm.
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
31) 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.
A) differential
B) microselective
C) rigid
D) semipermeable
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
32) Some microorganisms can undergo ________ in which various cell types can become
specialized and arise from one parent cell type.
A) differentiation
B) genetic exchange
C) maturation
D) mutagenesis
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
33) Cyanobacteria and purple sulfur bacteria both obtain energy from light. However, only the
________ are capable of releasing ________.
A) cyanobacteria / organic compounds
B) cyanobacteria / oxygen
C) purple bacteria / organic compounds
D) purple bacteria / oxygen
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.5
Learning Objective: 1.I
34) The process whereby microorganisms are used to help clean up pollution created by human
activities is known as
A) bioaugmentation.
B) biodegradation.
C) bioengineering.
D) bioremediation.
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
35) Robert Koch received the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
A) developing a smallpox vaccination.
B) identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the causative agent of tuberculosis.
C) making an effective rabies vaccine.
D) developing a smallpox vaccination, identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the causative
agent of tuberculosis, and making an effective rabies vaccine.
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
36) Bacillus anthracis deficient in its ability to differentiate would not be able to
A) chemotax toward growth substrates.
B) create vesicles.
C) form spores.
D) grow without additional supplemented nutrients.
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.3
Learning Objective: 1.I
37) Microbial biochemistry most specifically involves the discovery of microbial ________ and
the ________ they perform.
A) organelles / diffusion
B) enzymes / organelles
C) reactions / enzymes
D) macromolecules / functions
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.14
Learning Objective: 1.IV
38) Microbial cells first evolved on Earth approximately ________ billion years ago.
A) 1.6 to 1.8
B) 3.8 to 4.3
C) 5.4 to 5.6
D) 7.0 to 7.2
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.5
Learning Objective: 1.I
41) ________ was the first to describe microorganisms, while ________ was the first person to
see bacteria.
A) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek / Robert Hook
B) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek / Robert Koch
C) Robert Hooke / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
D) Robert Koch / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.7
Learning Objective: 1.II
42) The production of human proteins (e.g., insulin) by genetically engineered microorganisms is
an example of ________, a subdiscipline of microbiology.
A) applied microbiology
B) biotechnology
C) industrial microbiology
D) molecular microbiology
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
43) Approximately two billion years ago, ________ were primarily responsible for initially
oxygenating Earth.
A) algae
B) Archaea
C) cyanobacteria
D) purple sulfur bacteria
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.5
Learning Objective: 1.I
44) Archaea and Bacteria are unified as prokaryotes in lacking ________ which Eukarya
contain, such as mitochondria.
A) membranes
B) nuclei
C) membrane-enclosed organelles
D) nuclei and membrane-enclosed organelles
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.4
Learning Objective: 1.I
46) Electron microscopy has greater ________ than light microscopy, because the wavelength of
visible light is much larger than the wavelength of electrons.
A) contrast
B) magnification
C) resolution
D) penetration
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.10
Learning Objective: 1.II
47) Which of the following types of microscopy is especially effective for viewing details of
internal structures within live cells?
A) Phase-contrast microscopy
B) Transmission electron microscopy
C) Bright-field microscopy
D) Scanning electron microscopy
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.8
Learning Objective: 1.II
48) Which of the following types of microscopy could be used to visualize the layers of the cell
membrane and the cell wall?
A) Phase-contrast microscopy
B) Transmission electron microscopy
C) Bright-field microscopy
D) Confocal microscopy
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.10
Learning Objective: 1.II
49) Who was the first researcher to provide direct experimental data that supported the germ
theory to explain infectious disease?
A) Pasteur
B) Winogradsky
C) Lister
D) Koch
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
50) When medical devices are left in the body, bacteria may grow on them as ________, which
makes them especially resistant to treatment.
A) biofilms
B) liquids
C) populations
D) communities
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
52) What field focuses specifically on the use of microbes to make products, such as antibiotics,
on a large scale?
A) Microbial ecology
B) Biotechnology
C) Industrial ecology
D) Medical microbiology
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
53) Which statement about the relationship between microbes and humans is FALSE?
A) Most microbes are pathogenic.
B) Infectious disease is an important public health concern.
C) Bacteria in the digestive tract are important for digestion.
D) Microbes in root nodules fix nitrogen and allow plants to make nitrogen-rich products.
Answer: A
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
54) Why is ribosomal RNA especially useful for the study of phylogenetic relationships?
A) It is only found in some species, helping them to distinguish from others.
B) It is highly conserved.
C) It is highly variable.
D) It is extremely short.
Answer: B
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.15
Learning Objective: 1.IV
56) Compared to Eukaryotes, Bacteria and Archaea have ________ surface-to-volume ratios,
causing ________ nutrient exchange.
A) lower / lower
B) lower / higher
C) higher / lower
D) higher / higher
Answer: D
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.3
Learning Objective: 1.I
57) An organism of the genus Staphylococcus is ________, while an organism of the genus
Spirochaeta is ________.
A) spherical / rod shaped
B) rod shaped / coiled
C) spherical / coiled
D) coiled / spherical
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.3
Learning Objective: 1.I
59) You have discovered a new microorganism and would like to classify it as a eukaryote or a
prokaryote. To investigate this question, you prepare a slide with a simple stain and view it with
a light microscope with a 40X objective lens and 10X ocular lens. You also prepare a control
slide using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a unicellular eukaryote). You can see the cells on your
control slide, but you don't see cells when you look at your unknown microorganism. What can
you conclude from this experiment?
A) The experiment failed to visualize the organism because the stain killed it.
B) Your new unknown microorganism is probably a virus.
C) The cells of the new unknown microorganism may be too small to see with the objective and
ocular lenses you used.
D) The new unknown microorganism is probably an archaeon.
Answer: C
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.7
Learning Objective: 1.II
4) According to our present understanding, each of the three major domains has what is known
as its own universal ancestor.
Answer: FALSE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.4
Learning Objective: 1.I
5) Both environmental conditions and nutrient resources strongly influence the composition of a
microbial community.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.1
Learning Objective: 1.I
9) Today, the enrichment culture technique developed over a century ago by Martinus Beijerinck
remains a feasible approach to discovering bacteria capable of degrading pollutants.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.13
Learning Objective: 1.III
10) Sergei Winogradsky worked with bacteria involved in cycling nitrogen and sulfur.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.13
Learning Objective: 1.III
11) 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.
Answer: FALSE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
12) Not only do some microorganisms tolerate extremely hot temperatures, some actually require
high temperatures for optimal growth.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.4
Learning Objective: 1.I
13) Electron microscopes have less resolving power (resolution) than light microscopes.
Answer: FALSE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.10
Learning Objective: 1.II
14) Smaller prokaryotic cells generally grow faster than larger ones due to a higher surface-area-
to-volume ratio.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.3
Learning Objective: 1.I
15) A bacterial cell is interpreted as gram-positive when it forms purple insoluble crystal violet-
iodine complexes within the cell during the Gram stain.
Answer: TRUE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.8
Learning Objective: 1.II
16) Viewing the shape of a bacterial or archaeal cell using a microscope gives a great deal of
information about the metabolism and lifestyle of the organism.
Answer: FALSE
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.8
Learning Objective: 1.II
3) Microbes were first formally observed during the mid-1600s, but the cell theory was not
enunciated until 1839. Write a brief essay explaining why microbiology did not become a
formally recognized science until Louis Pasteur's and Robert Koch's time.
Answer: Answers will vary, but a theme should be the lack of powerful microscopy tools.
Without sufficient microscopes, individual cells could not be seen but the activities of
microorganisms could be observed, such as the production of ethanol in Louis Pasteur's
experiments on fermentation.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.11, 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
4) Compare and contrast the works of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in terms of both applied
techniques and basic science.
Answer: Answers will vary, but should highlight the differences between basic scientific
research in which fundamental ideas are discovered opposed to the usage of microbiological
principles to solve larger questions. Examples of Pasteur's basic science contributions are his
work showing that fermentation was mediated by microorganisms and the preferential
metabolism of particular optical isomers by microbes. Pasteur also applied his ideas to develop
sterilization techniques. Robert Koch focused more on the application of microbiology to
identify the cause of tuberculosis by developing pure culturing techniques and the four postulates
to link microbes to a disease.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.11, 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
5) Explain why microbial cells are excellent models for understanding cell function in higher
organisms.
Answer: Answers will vary, but should include commonality of function, biochemical and
genetic similarities, and ease and speed with which they can be grown in large quantities.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
6) 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?
Answer: Answers will vary, but a focus should be that pathogens that killed people in the early
1900s are now treatable due to knowledge learned from microbiologists.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
7) Explain how you would use Robert Koch's postulates to determine that Streptococcus
pyogenes is the causative agent of streptococcal pharyngitis ("strep throat").
Answer: Answers will vary but will need to detail how S. pyogenes will be subjected to all four
postulates.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
8) Describe beneficial and harmful ways in which microorganisms interact with agricultural
crops.
Answer: Certain microbes are beneficial to crops when they produce nutrients (e.g., NH4+,
SO42−) usable by a crop from a substrate that was unusable. Other microbes can cause diseases
in plants, much like pathogens cause disease in humans.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
10) Explain why only anaerobic bacteria inhabited Earth for the first two billion years of its
existence.
Answer: The key idea is an anoxic environment will not allow aerobic organisms to survive.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.5
Learning Objective: 1.I
11) Using specific examples, explain why it is sometimes impossible to satisfy Robert Koch's
postulates.
Answer: Answers will vary, but one issue is the consideration for a model animal host that will
react to the (human) pathogen in the same manner as in a human host. For example, a chicken
would not show flu-like symptoms when infected with the influenza virus. Another issue is the
inability to cultivate some microorganisms outside of the host.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.12
Learning Objective: 1.III
12) Explain why infectious diseases are much less lethal in developed countries than in
underdeveloped countries.
Answer: Answers will vary, but should emphasize ways in which increased knowledge about
microbial pathogenesis has influenced preventative care (e.g., sanitation) and treatment (e.g.,
antimicrobial drugs).
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
13) Describe two capabilities of microbes that exemplify their dynamic nature in interacting with
their environment.
Answer: Answers could possibly include cell-cell communication, ability to move (motility),
ability to differentiate, and exchange of materials (any two).
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1-2: Remembering/Understanding
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
14) Compare and contrast the functions microbes serve in the digestive systems of both humans
and ruminants (e.g., cattle).
Answer: Answers will vary, but should focus on humans having a high cell localized density in
the colon (large intestine), whereas rumens have higher microbial populations in the rumen.
Microbes in both systems aid in digestion and improve nutrition/health of the host.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3-4: Applying/Analyzing
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
15) The explosive chemical trinitrotoluene (TNT) can remain in soils after use and is hazardous
to humans. Propose an experiment in which TNT-degrading microorganisms could be isolated
for purposes of bioremediation. Also, indicate what experimental evidence would be useful to
isolate TNT-degrading microorganisms.
Answer: Experimental designs will vary, but one example would be to use the enrichment
culture technique with soil from an ammunition site. While adding TNT to the enrichment
culture, a key piece of experimental evidence could be the loss of TNT in the culture to initiate
isolation attempts.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.6
Learning Objective: 1.I
16) What type of microscope would you use to visualize the internal structures of a chloroplast?
Support your answer with evidence based on the size of the structures you want to see and the
resolution and magnification power of different types of microscopes.
Answer: Transmission electron microscopy would be necessary to visualize the internal
structures of a chloroplast. Chloroplasts are less than 5 μm in diameter and the internal
membranes are only 10 nm thick. Light microscopes only have a resolution of 200 nm, thus any
structure less than 200 nm will not be visible. Individual chloroplasts could be seen with a light
microscope, but not the structures inside. Scanning electron microscopy can only see external
features because electrons cannot penetrate the cell, thus the cell must be sectioned and prepared
for transmission electron microscopy to see the inside of the chloroplasts.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.10
Learning Objective: 1.II
17) Explain why prokaryotes tend to survive and adapt more rapidly to extreme and dynamic
environmental conditions than eukaryotes.
Answer: Answers will vary, but should reflect an understanding of how the higher surface-to-
volume ratio influences the growth rate and total accumulation of mutations in prokaryotes.
Another feature that increases mutation rate is the haploid nature of prokaryotes. Lastly, answers
could mention that the rigid cell walls and various changes in the cytoplasmic membrane make it
easier for prokaryotes to survive in unusual and extreme environments.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I
18) Explain why being small is advantageous for cells and how it affects growth rates.
Answer: A smaller cell has a greater surface area to volume ratio than a larger cell. This means
that smaller cells can more rapidly exchange materials with their surroundings because there is
so much surface membrane relative to the internal volume. This increases growth rates, meaning
that smaller cells generally grow faster than larger cells.
Bloom's Taxonomy: 5-6: Evaluating/Creating
Chapter Section: 1.2
Learning Objective: 1.I