OPENSTAX MICROBIOLOGY TEST BANK OpenStax 5. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological
classification system is which of the following people?
Microbiology THIS TEST BANK COVERS ALL CHAPTERS A. Ernst Haeckel
1-26 OF THE BOOK, Answered B. Carolus Linnaeus*
C. Louis Pasteur
Chapter 1: An Invisible World D. Robert Whittaker
* = Correct answer Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
Multiple Choice
6. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
1. Which of the following is true of the microbial world? A. Animalia
A. All microbes are harmful. B. Fungi
B. Humans could survive without microbes. C. Monera*
C. Many microbes are helpful.* D. Protista
D. Most microbes are pathogenic.
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23, 24
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
2. Which of the following is when humans first suspected the existence of microbes? A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya*
A. during the Industrial Revolution B. Archaea, Prokaryota, and Eukaryota
B. in prehistoric times* C. Bacteria, Fungi, and Protista
C. in the last century D. Bacteria, Prokaryota, and Eukarya
D. within the last 500 years
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23
8. Which two taxonomic units are typically used to identify an organism when using
3. Which individual first observed unicellular organisms, which he called binomial nomenclature?
“animalcules,” using a microscope he developed? A. domain and kingdom
A. Robert Koch B. genus and family
B. Louis Pasteur C. genus and species*
C. Thucydides D. phylum and class
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 6
9. Which of the following is not true about the process of fermentation?
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists are A. It can help preserve foods, preventing spoilage.
increasingly using which of the following devices for easy, rapid benchtop B. It converts sugars to organic acids, alcohols, and/or gases such as carbon dioxide.
sterilization of small pieces of equipment? C. It is carried out exclusively by unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast.*
A. autoclaves D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
B. ethylene oxide
C. incubators Difficulty: Moderate
D. microincinerators* ASM Standard: 11, 23, 26
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 36
,10. The Romans may have reduced their risk of waterborne infectious diseases by using D. Phylogenies show interactions between species in a shared habitat.
which of the following?
A. a variety of pharmaceutical products Difficulty: Moderate
B. aqueducts and a sewer system* ASM Standard: 5
C. prophylactic antibiotics
D. quarantine of people with leprosy 15. Current phylogenetic analyses include which of the following?
A. information from a range of sources, including morphological, genetic, and
Difficulty: Moderate biochemical data*
ASM Standard: 23 B. information on visible similarities only
C. information regarding how to classify organisms on the basis of external
11. For which of the following is Thucydides known? morphological characteristics and visible behaviors
A. developing an effective sewer system in ancient Greece, helping to reduce D. varied morphological and structural characteristics, with preference for leaving
levels of disease in cities historical classifications to prevent confusion
B. observing microbes, using a microscope, for the first time, even distinguishing
between bacteria and fungi Difficulty: Moderate
C. proposing that disease was caused by microorganisms ASM Standard: 5
D. realizing that people who had been infected by the Athenian plague had
immunity to reinfection* 16. Diatoms are classified within which of the following domains?
A. Archaea
Difficulty: Moderate B. Bacteria
ASM Standard: 23, 31 C. Eukarya*
D. Prokaryota
12. Ernst Haeckel proposed a classification system consisting of which of the
following subgroups? Difficulty: Moderate
A. five kingdoms ASM Standard: N/A
B. four kingdoms*
C. two domains and three kingdoms 17. Horizontal gene transfer involves which of the following?
D. two domains and five kingdoms A. any transfer of genes in a laboratory setting
B. the transfer of genes from a virus to a bacterium or vice versa but not any
Difficulty: Moderate other form of gene transfer
ASM Standard: N/A C. the transfer of genes from one individual to another, including from one
species to another, but not from parent to offspring*
13. Viruses not included in phylogenetic trees for which of the following reasons? D. the transfer of genes from parent to offspring
A. It is too difficult to observe their characteristics.
B. They are acellular and nonliving.* Difficulty: Moderate
C. They do not have any genes, which prevents genetic analysis. ASM Standard: 2, 4
D. They lack a nucleus.
18. Bacteria are generally identified to species by using which of the following?
Difficulty: Moderate A. a combination of genetic, biochemical, and microscopic approaches*
ASM Standard: 5 B. a combination of microscopic and physiological approaches, but not genetics
C. primarily characteristics such as motility that can be visualized using microscopy
14. Which is the best description of the primary purpose of a phylogeny? D. primarily morphological characteristics of individual cells
A. Phylogenies show all the alterative names for each species.
B. Phylogenies show all the common names for each species. Difficulty: Moderate
C. Phylogenies show evolutionary relatedness between organisms.* ASM Standard: 34, 36
,19. For taxonomic classification of microbes, serological tests typically are used to do Difficulty: Moderate
which of the following? ASM Standard: 4
A. determine complete genome sequences for microbes
B. identify proteins on the basis of their reaction with specific antibodies* 24. Which of the following is not a curved bacterial shape?
C. run analyses to identify whether particular genes are present A. bacillus*
D. visualize microbial external morphology B. spirillum
C. spirochete
Difficulty: Moderate D. vibrio
ASM Standard: 34, 36
Difficulty: Easy
20. Which of the following is true of bacterial strains? ASM Standard: 34
A. They are closely related subtypes within a bacterial species that may or may
not have similar properties.* 25. Based just on the name, which of the following groups of bacteria contains entirely
B. They are informal bacterial groupings used for medical distinctions but not species that consume organic compounds for food?
recognized for classification purposes. A. cyanobacteria
C. They are more distantly related to each other than are members of a single B. green nonsulfur bacteria
bacterial species. C. green sulfur bacteria
D. They are very similar bacteria with almost identical properties. D. nonphotosynthetic bacteria*
Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5 ASM Standard: 11, 13, 20
21. Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is used primarily as which of the following? 26. Chitin cell walls are characteristic of which taxonomic group?
A. a guide to bacterial shapes A. algae
B. a historical account of changes in classification techniques B. archaea
C. a list and characterization of all known medically relevant microbes C. bacteria
D. a reference for bacterial classification* D. fungi*
Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34 ASM Standard: 20
22. Which of the following indicates how bacteria and viruses typically compare in size? 27. Yeasts are which of the following?
A. Bacteria are indistinguishable from viruses. A. a type of algae
B. Bacteria are much larger than viruses.* B. a type of protist
C. Bacteria are much smaller than viruses. C. any unicellular microbe
D. Bacteria are similar in size to viruses. D. unicellular fungi*
Difficulty: Easy Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A ASM Standard: 20
23. Viruses are classified as which of the following? 28. The cell walls of archaeans often contain which of the following substances?
A. Archaea A. cellulose
B. Bacteria B. chitin
C. Eukarya C. peptidoglycan
D. distinct from the three-domain system* D. pseudopeptidoglycan*
, Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20, 23, 26
29. Which of the following is not true of archaeans?
A. Some species live on the human body. 34. The guinea worm is best described as which of the following?
B. They are genetically distinct from bacteria. A. a helminthic parasite transmitted by consuming contaminated water*
C. They are only found in extreme environments.* B. a type of mold that grows into a worm-like shape and produces antimicrobial chemicals
D. They have substantial metabolic differences from bacteria. C. a type of protist found in water that has not been properly treated
D. a type of protozoan that is unusual because it is multicellular
Difficulty: Difficult
ASM Standard: 20 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23
30. Which of the following is not true of algae?
A. All the algae are classified together in one similar group closely related to green plants.* 35. Which of the following is true of the genetics of viruses?
B. Ingredients made from algae, including carrageenan, are used in food products. A. Viruses always contain DNA and force host cells to produce RNA.
C. They are being used to develop biofuels. B. Viruses always contain DNA and RNA.
D. They are sometimes multicellular. C. Viruses always contain RNA and force host cells to produce DNA.
D. Viruses can contain either DNA or RNA, but not both.*
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20, 23, 26 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
31. Oral thrush is caused by which type of organism?
A. algae True/False
B. bacteria
C. fungi* 36. All organisms studied in the field of microbiology are visible only with a
D. protists microscope. Answer: False
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Moderate ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23
37. Older scientific names are typically derived from
32. Mycotoxins are produced by which type of organism? Latin. Answer: True
A. archaeans
B. heterotrophic protists Difficulty: Easy
C. molds* ASM Standard: N/A
D. protozoans
38. Animal cells are generally about the same size as
Difficulty: Moderate bacterial cells. Answer: False
ASM Standard: 23
Difficulty: Easy
33. Which of the following is not a common use of fungi? ASM Standard: N/A
A. the production of alcoholic beverages
B. the production of carrageenan* 39. Researchers studying a 5300-year-old mummy discovered in the 1990s think he
C. the production of cyclosporine may have been trying to use a fungus to treat his illnesses.
D. the production of penicillin Answer: True
Difficulty: Easy
classification system is which of the following people?
Microbiology THIS TEST BANK COVERS ALL CHAPTERS A. Ernst Haeckel
1-26 OF THE BOOK, Answered B. Carolus Linnaeus*
C. Louis Pasteur
Chapter 1: An Invisible World D. Robert Whittaker
* = Correct answer Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
Multiple Choice
6. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
1. Which of the following is true of the microbial world? A. Animalia
A. All microbes are harmful. B. Fungi
B. Humans could survive without microbes. C. Monera*
C. Many microbes are helpful.* D. Protista
D. Most microbes are pathogenic.
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23, 24
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
2. Which of the following is when humans first suspected the existence of microbes? A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya*
A. during the Industrial Revolution B. Archaea, Prokaryota, and Eukaryota
B. in prehistoric times* C. Bacteria, Fungi, and Protista
C. in the last century D. Bacteria, Prokaryota, and Eukarya
D. within the last 500 years
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23
8. Which two taxonomic units are typically used to identify an organism when using
3. Which individual first observed unicellular organisms, which he called binomial nomenclature?
“animalcules,” using a microscope he developed? A. domain and kingdom
A. Robert Koch B. genus and family
B. Louis Pasteur C. genus and species*
C. Thucydides D. phylum and class
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 6
9. Which of the following is not true about the process of fermentation?
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists are A. It can help preserve foods, preventing spoilage.
increasingly using which of the following devices for easy, rapid benchtop B. It converts sugars to organic acids, alcohols, and/or gases such as carbon dioxide.
sterilization of small pieces of equipment? C. It is carried out exclusively by unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast.*
A. autoclaves D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
B. ethylene oxide
C. incubators Difficulty: Moderate
D. microincinerators* ASM Standard: 11, 23, 26
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 36
,10. The Romans may have reduced their risk of waterborne infectious diseases by using D. Phylogenies show interactions between species in a shared habitat.
which of the following?
A. a variety of pharmaceutical products Difficulty: Moderate
B. aqueducts and a sewer system* ASM Standard: 5
C. prophylactic antibiotics
D. quarantine of people with leprosy 15. Current phylogenetic analyses include which of the following?
A. information from a range of sources, including morphological, genetic, and
Difficulty: Moderate biochemical data*
ASM Standard: 23 B. information on visible similarities only
C. information regarding how to classify organisms on the basis of external
11. For which of the following is Thucydides known? morphological characteristics and visible behaviors
A. developing an effective sewer system in ancient Greece, helping to reduce D. varied morphological and structural characteristics, with preference for leaving
levels of disease in cities historical classifications to prevent confusion
B. observing microbes, using a microscope, for the first time, even distinguishing
between bacteria and fungi Difficulty: Moderate
C. proposing that disease was caused by microorganisms ASM Standard: 5
D. realizing that people who had been infected by the Athenian plague had
immunity to reinfection* 16. Diatoms are classified within which of the following domains?
A. Archaea
Difficulty: Moderate B. Bacteria
ASM Standard: 23, 31 C. Eukarya*
D. Prokaryota
12. Ernst Haeckel proposed a classification system consisting of which of the
following subgroups? Difficulty: Moderate
A. five kingdoms ASM Standard: N/A
B. four kingdoms*
C. two domains and three kingdoms 17. Horizontal gene transfer involves which of the following?
D. two domains and five kingdoms A. any transfer of genes in a laboratory setting
B. the transfer of genes from a virus to a bacterium or vice versa but not any
Difficulty: Moderate other form of gene transfer
ASM Standard: N/A C. the transfer of genes from one individual to another, including from one
species to another, but not from parent to offspring*
13. Viruses not included in phylogenetic trees for which of the following reasons? D. the transfer of genes from parent to offspring
A. It is too difficult to observe their characteristics.
B. They are acellular and nonliving.* Difficulty: Moderate
C. They do not have any genes, which prevents genetic analysis. ASM Standard: 2, 4
D. They lack a nucleus.
18. Bacteria are generally identified to species by using which of the following?
Difficulty: Moderate A. a combination of genetic, biochemical, and microscopic approaches*
ASM Standard: 5 B. a combination of microscopic and physiological approaches, but not genetics
C. primarily characteristics such as motility that can be visualized using microscopy
14. Which is the best description of the primary purpose of a phylogeny? D. primarily morphological characteristics of individual cells
A. Phylogenies show all the alterative names for each species.
B. Phylogenies show all the common names for each species. Difficulty: Moderate
C. Phylogenies show evolutionary relatedness between organisms.* ASM Standard: 34, 36
,19. For taxonomic classification of microbes, serological tests typically are used to do Difficulty: Moderate
which of the following? ASM Standard: 4
A. determine complete genome sequences for microbes
B. identify proteins on the basis of their reaction with specific antibodies* 24. Which of the following is not a curved bacterial shape?
C. run analyses to identify whether particular genes are present A. bacillus*
D. visualize microbial external morphology B. spirillum
C. spirochete
Difficulty: Moderate D. vibrio
ASM Standard: 34, 36
Difficulty: Easy
20. Which of the following is true of bacterial strains? ASM Standard: 34
A. They are closely related subtypes within a bacterial species that may or may
not have similar properties.* 25. Based just on the name, which of the following groups of bacteria contains entirely
B. They are informal bacterial groupings used for medical distinctions but not species that consume organic compounds for food?
recognized for classification purposes. A. cyanobacteria
C. They are more distantly related to each other than are members of a single B. green nonsulfur bacteria
bacterial species. C. green sulfur bacteria
D. They are very similar bacteria with almost identical properties. D. nonphotosynthetic bacteria*
Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5 ASM Standard: 11, 13, 20
21. Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is used primarily as which of the following? 26. Chitin cell walls are characteristic of which taxonomic group?
A. a guide to bacterial shapes A. algae
B. a historical account of changes in classification techniques B. archaea
C. a list and characterization of all known medically relevant microbes C. bacteria
D. a reference for bacterial classification* D. fungi*
Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34 ASM Standard: 20
22. Which of the following indicates how bacteria and viruses typically compare in size? 27. Yeasts are which of the following?
A. Bacteria are indistinguishable from viruses. A. a type of algae
B. Bacteria are much larger than viruses.* B. a type of protist
C. Bacteria are much smaller than viruses. C. any unicellular microbe
D. Bacteria are similar in size to viruses. D. unicellular fungi*
Difficulty: Easy Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A ASM Standard: 20
23. Viruses are classified as which of the following? 28. The cell walls of archaeans often contain which of the following substances?
A. Archaea A. cellulose
B. Bacteria B. chitin
C. Eukarya C. peptidoglycan
D. distinct from the three-domain system* D. pseudopeptidoglycan*
, Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20, 23, 26
29. Which of the following is not true of archaeans?
A. Some species live on the human body. 34. The guinea worm is best described as which of the following?
B. They are genetically distinct from bacteria. A. a helminthic parasite transmitted by consuming contaminated water*
C. They are only found in extreme environments.* B. a type of mold that grows into a worm-like shape and produces antimicrobial chemicals
D. They have substantial metabolic differences from bacteria. C. a type of protist found in water that has not been properly treated
D. a type of protozoan that is unusual because it is multicellular
Difficulty: Difficult
ASM Standard: 20 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23
30. Which of the following is not true of algae?
A. All the algae are classified together in one similar group closely related to green plants.* 35. Which of the following is true of the genetics of viruses?
B. Ingredients made from algae, including carrageenan, are used in food products. A. Viruses always contain DNA and force host cells to produce RNA.
C. They are being used to develop biofuels. B. Viruses always contain DNA and RNA.
D. They are sometimes multicellular. C. Viruses always contain RNA and force host cells to produce DNA.
D. Viruses can contain either DNA or RNA, but not both.*
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 20, 23, 26 Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
31. Oral thrush is caused by which type of organism?
A. algae True/False
B. bacteria
C. fungi* 36. All organisms studied in the field of microbiology are visible only with a
D. protists microscope. Answer: False
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Moderate ASM Standard: N/A
ASM Standard: 23
37. Older scientific names are typically derived from
32. Mycotoxins are produced by which type of organism? Latin. Answer: True
A. archaeans
B. heterotrophic protists Difficulty: Easy
C. molds* ASM Standard: N/A
D. protozoans
38. Animal cells are generally about the same size as
Difficulty: Moderate bacterial cells. Answer: False
ASM Standard: 23
Difficulty: Easy
33. Which of the following is not a common use of fungi? ASM Standard: N/A
A. the production of alcoholic beverages
B. the production of carrageenan* 39. Researchers studying a 5300-year-old mummy discovered in the 1990s think he
C. the production of cyclosporine may have been trying to use a fungus to treat his illnesses.
D. the production of penicillin Answer: True
Difficulty: Easy
