a. infectious agents that infect multi-cellular organisms

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Viruses are:

• infectious agents that infect multi-cellular organisms
• noncellular particles that take over the metabolism of a cell to generate more virus

particles

• pathogens that replicate in complex growth media
• cellular particles that belong to the archaea domain
• microbes that consist of lipid membrane enclosed genomes

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.A | I.B

MSC: Remembering

2. Analysis of DNA sequences reveals:

• the ancient convergence of two cell types, i.e., prokaryotes and eukaryotes
• prokaryotes and eukaryotes evolved from a common ancestral cell
• that bacteria share common ancestor with archaea, but not with eukarya
• prokaryotes are cells with a nucleus
• the genome of Haemophilus influenzae has about 2 billion base pairs

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.A | I.B

MSC: Remembering

• Which of these groups are considered to be microbes but NOT considered to be cells?
• viruses d. protists
• bacteria e. filamentous fungi
• archaea

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.A.i

MSC: Remembering

4. A microbe is commonly defined as:

• a virus that requires a microscope to be seen
• a bacterium that requires a microscope to be seen
• a single-cellular prokaryote that requires a microscope to be seen
• a multicellular eukaryote that requires a microscope to be seen
• a living organism that requires a microscope to be seen

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.A.i | I.A.ii

MSC: Remembering

• Which one of the following statements regarding microbial cells is NOT true?
• Microbial cells acquire food, gain energy to build themselves, and respond to

environmental change.

• Most single-celled organisms require a microscope to render them visible, but some

bacterial cells are large enough to be seen with naked eyes.

• Microbes function as individual entities.

Test Bank for Microbiology An Evolving Science 3e by Joan Slonczewski, John Foster (All Chapters) CHAPTER 1: Microbial Life: Origin and Discovery 1 / 4

• Many microbes form complex multicellular assemblages.
• Viruses are not considered as microbial cells.

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.A.i | I.A.ii

MSC: Remembering

• Which of the following statements is FALSE?
• A genome is the total genetic information contained in an organism’s chromosomal DNA.
• If a microbe’s genome includes genes for nitrogenase, that microbe probably can fix

nitrogen.

• By comparing DNA sequences of different organisms, we can figure out how closely

related they are.

• Fred Sanger developed the first applicable DNA sequencing method.
• Fred Sanger completed the sequences of Haemophilus influenzae.

ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.B

MSC: Remembering

7. The first cellular genomes to be sequenced were those of:

• humans d. prions
• bacteria e. fungi
• viruses

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.1 TOP: I.B.i

MSC: Remembering

• The environment of early Earth may have contained all of the following EXCEPT:
• ferrous iron d. oxygen
• methane e. hydrogen gas
• ammonia

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Special Topic 1.1 TOP: II.D MSC: Remembering

• The development of the theory of the “RNA world” resulted from the discovery of:
• archaea d. ribozymes
• prions e. endosymbionts
• bacteria

ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Special Topic 1.1 TOP: II.D MSC: Remembering

• Which microbes may resemble those of the earliest life forms?
• archaea d. cyanobacteria
• photosynthetic algae e. protists
• viruses

ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Special Topic 1.1 TOP: II.D MSC: Remembering

11. Early metabolism may have been catalyzed by:

• DNA d. amino acids
• RNA e. carbohydrates
• protein

ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Special Topic 1.1 2 / 4

TOP: II.D MSC: Remembering

• Which of the following diseases accounts for more than half of all human mortality?
• cardiovascular disease d. microbial disease
• cancer e. strokes
• accidents

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A

MSC: Remembering

• Which century is known as the golden age of microbiology?
• the seventeenth d. the twentieth
• the eighteenth e. the twenty-first
• the nineteenth

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A

MSC: Remembering

14. All of the following have been found in mummies and tomb art EXCEPT:

• tuberculosis d. smallpox
• polio e. AIDS
• leprosy

ANS: E DIF: Medium REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A.i

MSC: Remembering

• How did European invaders to North America kill much of the native population?
• tuberculosis d. HIV
• leprosy e. bubonic plague
• smallpox

ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A.i

MSC: Remembering

16. Nightingale:

• is better known as the founder of professional nursing
• was the first to use disinfectant to demonstrate the significance of aseptic technique
• developed the pie chart of mortality data during the Crimean War
• performed the first controlled experiment on the chemical conversion of matter, known

today as chemotherapy

• all of the above

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A.ii

MSC: Remembering

• Who developed the concept of medical statistics?
• Francis Crick d. Louis Pasteur
• Florence Nightingale e. Alexander Fleming
• Edward Jenner

ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A.ii

MSC: Remembering

18. The first person to visualize individual microbes was:

• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek d. Lady Montagu
• Robert Hooke e. Edward Jenner 3 / 4

• Louis Pasteur

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 TOP: II.B.ii

MSC: Remembering

• Which technique was developed to distinguish bacteria from human cells?
• Gram stain d. DNA sequencing
• electron microscopy e. polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• X-ray diffraction

ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: 1.2 TOP: II.B.ii

MSC: Remembering

• How is most sterilization performed for the controlled study of microbes?
• boiling d. autoclaving
• pasteurization e. irradiation
• filter sterilization

ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: 1.2 TOP: II.C.iii.a

MSC: Remembering

21. Microbes can shape human history via:

• lithotrophic activities d. production of cheese
• production of alcoholic beverages e. all of the above
• diseases that they cause

ANS: E DIF: Medium REF: 1.2 TOP: II.A

MSC: Understanding

• Suppose Pasteur’s swan-necked flasks containing boiled broth became cloudy 24 hours after boiling.

Which choice could best explain the turbidity or cloudiness in the broth without supporting spontaneous generation?

• Endospores in the broth survived boiling and grew after the broth cooled.
• Contaminating organisms in the broth killed by boiling became alive again after the broth

cooled.

• Chemicals in the broth came together to form living organisms.
• The broth allowed light to pass through it with less interference after boiling.
• Solid material in the broth dissolved during boiling.

ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: 1.2 TOP: II.C.ii.b

MSC: Applying

• Robert Koch’s greatest accomplishment in the field of medical bacteriology was with:
• Escherichia coli d. rabies
• Bacillus subtilis e. smallpox
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: 1.3 TOP: III.B.i

MSC: Remembering

24. The use of agar as the gelling agent in solid media was suggested by:

• Robert Koch d. Louis Pasteur
• Ignaz Semmelweis e. Richard Petri
• Angelina Hesse

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.3 TOP: III.B.i.a

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