Question 1

Louis Pasteur made several important contributions to microbiology. These included studying wine making,diseases in silkworms and which of the following:

Accepted Answer

Louis Pasteur developed the first rabies vaccine, which was a major contribution to microbiology. He also studied wine making and diseases in silkworms, but did not associate diseases with multiple different organisms or discover a method to introduce unwanted organisms into food and wine. Additionally, Pasteur used swan-necked flasks to disprove the idea of spontaneous generation, not to prove that air contained the vital force that brought microbes.

Question 2

Vaccines are

Accepted Answer

Vaccines are preparations that establish immunity to a specific disease by introducing a weakened or dead pathogen, or a part of it, to the body to stimulate an immune response. This helps the body produce antibodies to fight off the actual disease-causing pathogen in case of future exposure, thus preventing the occurrence of the disease.

Question 3

While a doctor may diagnose and treat a patient who presents with a disease,an epidemiologist

Accepted Answer

An epidemiologist studies the frequency and distribution of diseases in the community. They analyze patterns and risk factors to identify potential outbreaks and prevent the spread of diseases. Unlike a doctor, they focus on the population as a whole rather than individual patients.

Question 4

Which of the following statements are true about infection control?

Accepted Answer

Semmelweiss was actually one of the earliest advocates of hand hygiene and introduced the idea of washing hands with a chlorine solution to reduce the transmission of disease in hospitals. However, he faced ridicule and disbelief from many physicians of his time, which delayed wider acceptance of hand hygiene practices. Choices A, B, and C are all inaccurate and contradict established infection control practices.

Question 5

A parasitologist studies parasites. What does a mycologist study?

Accepted Answer

A mycologist studies fungi.

Question 6

Before Ehrilich began a systematic search for a chemical to kill specific bacteria,the only chemotherapies available were substances derived from medicinal plants. What distinguished Ehrlich's chemotherapy research?

Accepted Answer

Ehrlich's chemotherapy research was distinguished by his systematic testing of hundreds of compounds to find a chemical that could specifically target and kill bacteria without harming surrounding tissue. This approach was different from previous chemotherapies that relied on substances derived from medicinal plants.

Question 7

All of the following are true statements about the development of antibiotics,except:

Accepted Answer

Option D is false. Sulfa drugs were widely used before the advent of antibiotics and were effective against a wide range of bacterial infections. However, some people were allergic to sulfa drugs and they were gradually replaced by newer and more effective antibiotics.

Question 8

What did ancient civilizations know about disease?

Accepted Answer

Although they didn't know about microbes, the Greeks and Romans correctly inferred that they were responsible for disease and could be spread from person to person.

Question 9

Viruses were initially identified as small infectious agents that could pass through filters. How was it believed that these molecules could survive?

Accepted Answer

It is believed that viruses survive by infecting host cells and taking over their metabolic and replicative mechanisms in order to produce new viruses. This is known as the lytic cycle.

Question 10

Which of the following is a reason microorganisms are useful in many different research laboratories (such as ecology,biochemistry,evolution and genetics)?

Accepted Answer

Microorganisms reproduce quickly and grow in large numbers, making them useful for a variety of research purposes that require a large sample size. Additionally, their fast growth allows for the rapid development and testing of hypotheses.

Question 11

Which statement about variolation is false?

Accepted Answer

Variolation does not require chemicals produced from another microorganism to kill the disease causing microbe. It involves introducing a small amount of the disease-causing microbe into the body to induce immunity.

Question 12

Microbes live in us,on us and nearly everywhere around us. Which of the following activities are microbes involved in?

Accepted Answer

Microbes are involved in decomposing dead organisms, aiding the digestive processes of grazing animals, and capturing energy from the sun through photosynthesis. They play an essential role in all of these activities.

Question 13

Microbiology is the study of bacteria,algae,fungi,viruses and protozoa. Most of these are single-celled,except for which two:

Accepted Answer

The only two options that are not single-celled are viruses (which are not cells) and fungi (which can have many cells). Option A is incorrect as algae are living organisms and are not made up of proteins, and not all bacteria are multicellular. Option C is incorrect as protozoa are single-celled organisms and fungi are not made up of free nucleic acids. Option D is incorrect as all viruses are made up of only one cell or a group of cells, and bacteria are always made up of cells.

Question 14

All of the following statements agree with the germ theory of disease,except

Accepted Answer

This statement goes against the germ theory of disease, as it suggests that disease-causing organisms can spontaneously arise, rather than being transmitted from other organisms or the environment.

Question 15

Koch's postulates were

Accepted Answer

Koch's postulates were a set of criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a causative microbe and a disease, and were not specific to any particular disease. They were based on the idea that the microbe must be present in every case of the disease, isolated and cultured from the host, and then shown to cause the disease in a healthy individual upon introduction. The fourth postulate, which required that the microorganisms isolated from experimentally inoculated hosts must be different from the microorganism that was introduced into the host, is not always strictly followed because some organisms can cause similar diseases.

Question 16

Koch developed tuberculin,which he hoped would be a vaccine against tuberculosis. Tuberculin is

Accepted Answer

Koch's tuberculin is not the current vaccine used against tuberculosis. It is administered as a skin test to diagnose tuberculosis. It is not an exception to germ theory, as it helped to prove that tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Question 17

What discovery was crucial to the founding of the field of microbiology?

Accepted Answer

The discovery of microscopes that allowed for the direct observation of microbes was crucial to the founding of the field of microbiology. This opened up a whole new world of study and understanding of microorganisms, including their morphology, behavior, and diversity.

Question 18

The English scientist Robert Hooke coined the term cell because the small boxes he saw in the microscope reminded him of a monk's room. What is the cell theory that was later proposed?

Accepted Answer

The cell theory states that cells are the fundamental units of life, that all living things are composed of cells, and that cells arise from pre-existing cells. This theory was later proposed by Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann in the 19th century. Option B is incorrect because replication (cell division) can result in the formation of two cells that are not necessarily equal in size. Option C is also incorrect because while DNA is an important molecule involved in heredity, it is not the only means by which genetic information can be passed on. Option D is incorrect because many organisms are multicellular, composed of more than one cell.

Question 19

Because viruses could not be visualized using conventional microscopes further progress required the development of techniques for isolating,propagating and analyzing viruses. All of the following are true,except:

Accepted Answer

Viral DNA has the same double-helical structure as discovered by Watson and Crick.

Question 20

Pasteur worked on rabies and cholera vaccine during the emergence of immunology. While culturing a chicken cholera he noted that an old culture was weakened and useful as a vaccine as it

Accepted Answer

Pasteur noted that the old culture did not cause disease symptoms but immunized against chicken cholera, making it a useful vaccine.

Quiz 1: Scope and History of Microbiology