Deck 1: The Microbial World

Question 1

Which of these is considered to be the smallest unit of life?

A) the nucleus
B) the mitochondrion
C) a plasmid
D) the cell
E) a prion

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The discovery of ribozymes provide evidence that life on the early Earth may have been based on:

A) DNA.
B) proteins.
C) RNA.
D) lipids.
E) polysaccharides.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The study of microbiology includes all of the following EXCEPT _____ .

A) plants
B) viruses
C) bacteria
D) fungi
E) algae

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What percent of the dry weight of the cell is composed of DNA?

A) 2 - 5
B) 12 -15
C) 25 - 30
D) 35 -40
E) 50 - 55

Question 5

Which one of the following is NOT a macromolecule?

A) a protein
B) a polypeptide
C) DNA
D) mRNA
E) an amino acid

Question 6

Which of these is an example of a macromolecule?

A) an amino acid
B) a nucleoside
C) a protein
D) a purine
E) a monosaccharide

Question 7

Approximately when did primitive cells first appear on Earth?

A) 1 billion years ago
B) 2 billion years ago
C) 2.5 billion years ago
D) 3 billion years ago
E) 3.8 billion years ago

Question 8

In the study of which of these fields have unicellular microbes played an important role?

A) biochemical pathways
B) protein synthesis
C) DNA replication
D) mRNA synthesis
E) all of the above

Question 9

Which of these is the most abundant cellular macromolecule (on a dry weight basis)?

A) polypeptides.
B) lipids.
C) DNA.
D) mRNA.
E) rRNA.

Question 10

What is the Endosymbiotic Theory is used to explain?

A) the rapid evolution of viruses
B) antiphagocytic abilities of parasitic protozoa
C) pathogenicity of parasitic bacteria
D) presence of mitochondria in eukaryotes
E) development of the nucleus in eukaryotes

Question 11

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A) All cells contain DNA as the main informational macromolecule.
B) All cells contain mitochondria for energy production.
C) All cells possess a plasma membrane.
D) All cells utilize a similar genetic code.
E) All cells contain ribosomes for protein synthesis.

Question 12

Which is a macromolecular difference between the Domains Bacteria and Archaea?

A) Archaea contain a nucleus and Bacteria do not.
B) Bacteria contain DNA and Archaea do not.
C) Bacteria contain a plasma membrane and Archaea do not.
D) Bacteria cell wall contains peptidoglycan and the Archaea cell wall does not.
E) Archaea contain multiple types of RNA polymerase and Bacteria has only one type.

Question 13

Viruses are considered "nonliving" for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they:

A) need a host cell for replication.
B) are metabolically inert.
C) possess DNA that can evolve.
D) do not maintain internal homeostasis.
E) are not responsive to environmental changes.

Question 14

Which of these is a yeast that is commonly used as a model organism to study many cellular features and processes in biological research?

A) Escherichia coli
B) Penicillium notatum
C) Bacillus subtilis
D) Aspergillus niger
E) Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Question 15

Which term represents the history of an organisms's evolution?

A) taxonomy
B) descent
C) classification
D) phylogeny
E) relative

Question 16

What is a progenote?

A) a type of Bacteria
B) a type of Archaea
C) a type of Bacteria or Archaea
D) an early type of mitochondrion
E) the earliest form of cellular life

Question 17

What are the three Domains of life?

A) Monera, Animals, and Plants
B) Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
C) Prokaryote, Eukaryote, and Fungi
D) Animals, Plants, and Bacteria
E) Animals, Plants, and Protista

Question 18

All of the following are properties that make microbes excellent models for studying basic processes in biology,EXCEPT that they:

A) are easy to grow.
B) are easy to manipulate genetically.
C) contain a very large number of genes.
D) are relatively inexpensive to maintain in the lab.
E) are easy to manipulate for the production of proteins and enzymes.

Question 19

Which of these are fossilized microbial mats containing photosynthetic bacteria?

A) Stromatolites
B) Biofilms
C) Resin
D) Cyanobacteria
E) Stalagmites

Question 20

Which statement below is FALSE concerning the atmosphere of early earth?

A) The atmosphere was a reducing atmosphere.
B) Oxygen was present in very minute amounts.
C) Carbon dioxide was present in very minute amounts.
D) Hydrogen gas was present.
E) Nitrogen gas was present in very large amounts.

Question 21

The Earth's ozone layer protects surface microbes from the harmful effects of:

A) the sun's heat.
B) gamma radiation.
C) ultraviolet light.
D) radio waves.
E) infrared radiation.

Question 22

During nitrogen fixation,microorganisms convert:

A) nitrate to dinitrogen gas.
B) dinitrogen gas to ammonia.
C) ammonia to dinitrogen gas.
D) dinitrogen gas to nitrate.
E) ammonia to nitrate.

Question 23

What is the he most prolific source of genetic variation in living organisms?

A) mutation
B) mitosis
C) transcription
D) translation
E) viral insertion

Question 24

What term applies to the oxidation of glucose to pyruvate for the generation of energy?

A) gluconeogenesis
B) Krebs cycle
C) lactate fermentation
D) pentose phosphate pathway
E) glycolysis

Question 25

The process of glycolysis is used to produce energy from simple sugars.

Question 26

Who was the first person to provide a written description of bacteria?

A) Louis Pasteur
B) Edward Jenner
C) Robert Koch
D) John Tyndall
E) Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Question 27

A chemoautotroph:

A) obtains carbon and energy from organic molecules.
B) obtains energy from the sun and carbon from organic molecules.
C) obtains energy from the sun and carbon from inorganic molecules.
D) obtains carbon and energy from inorganic molecules.
E) obtains energy from the sun and carbon from carbon dioxide only.

Question 28

Which is the correct distinction between a heterotroph and an autotroph?

A) An autotroph utilizes organic compounds as a carbon source and a heterotroph uses carbon dioxide as a carbon source.
B) An autotroph utilizes carbon dioxide as a carbon source and a heterotroph utilizes organic compounds as a carbon source.
C) An autotroph utilizes complex organic compounds as a carbon source and a heterotroph utilizes simple organic compounds as a carbon source.
D) An autotroph utilizes carbon dioxide as an energy source and a heterotroph utilizes organic compounds as an energy source.
E) an autotroph utilizes organic compounds as an energy source and a heterotroph utilizes carbon dioxide as an energy source .

Question 29

This early microbiologist used a swan-necked flask to help disprove the Theory of Spontaneous Generation.

A) Louis Pasteur
B) Edward Jenner
C) Robert Koch
D) John Tyndall
E) Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Question 30

Which of these best describes horizontal gene transfer?

A) mitosis followed by cytokinesis
B) meiosis and subsequent formation of a zygote
C) transfer of genes from mother cell to daughter cell
D) DNA replication followed by crossing over
E) acquisition of genes from another organism in the same generation

Question 31

This early microbiology pioneer developed a set of criteria for linking a specific microorganism to a specific disease.

A) Louis Pasteur
B) Edward Jenner
C) Robert Koch
D) John Tyndall
E) Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Question 32

Polypeptides are the most abundant macromolecule in the cell on a dry weight basis.

Question 33

Microbial nitrogen fixation is the conversion of ammonia into dinitrogen gas.

Question 34

DNA contributes about 2 to 5% to the dry weight of the cell.

Question 35

Which best describes a photoautotroph?

A) Utilizes sunlight for energy and organic molecules as a carbon source.
B) Utilizes sunlight as an energy source to fix carbon dioxide.
C) Emits light from the breakdown of organic carbon.
D) Emits light from the fixation of carbon dioxide.
E) Uses organic compounds as a source of carbon and energy.

Question 36

The atmosphere of the early earth contained very small amounts of carbon dioxide.

Question 37

In regards to metabolic diversity,which statement below is true?

A) Eukaryotic cells possess the greatest metabolic diversity.
B) Archaea and Bacteria possess greater metabolic diversity than Eukarya.
C) Animals possess greater metabolic diversity than bacteria.
D) Plants possess greater metabolic diversity than bacteria.
E) Protozoa possess greater metabolic diversity than bacteria.

Question 38

Which of these is required during aerobic respiration?

A) oxygen
B) glucose
C) nitrate
D) pyruvate
E) water

Question 39

Viruses are able to infect all types of cellular life forms.

Question 40

Which best describes the Cyanobacteria?

A) First prokaryote to contain mitochondria.
B) First appeared on earth about 3.5 billion years ago.
C) Carry out oxygenic photosynthesis.
D) Members of the Archaea domain.
E) A type of eukaryotic algae.

Question 41

What is the Endosymbiotic Theory? What evidence supports this theory?

Question 42

What is the importance of Koch's Postulates? List the postulates.

Question 43

The three domains of life are ________,________,and ________.

Question 44

The accumulation of the _______ layer from increased levels of oxygen in the atmosphere offered protection from ultraviolet light to terrestrial microbes growing on Earth's surface.

Question 45

Macromolecules that catalyze chemical reactions in the cell are called _________.

Question 46

The __________ Theory is used to explain the origins of mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotic cells.

Question 47

Carl Woese proposed using ribosomal RNA as a molecule to compare the evolutionary relationship between organisms.Explain why these molecules are considered excellent molecular chronometers for studying evolutionary time.

Question 48

The main difference between the two cell types,prokaryote and eukaryote,is the presence of a ________________ in the eukaryote.

Question 49

The ___________ __________ ___________ is an extremely important molecular technique that allowed scientists to specifically amplify a specific DNA sequence.

Question 50

The first person to describe bacteria observed under a microscope was Anton van Leeuwenhoek.