OPENSTAX MICROBIOLOGY TEST BANK OPENSTAX
MICROBIOLOGY CHAPTERS 1-26 | QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS | 2026
, Chapter 1: An Invisible World
* = Correct answer
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is true of the microbial world?
A. All microbes are harmful.
B. Humans could survive without microbes.
C. Many microbes are helpful.*
D. Most microbes are pathogenic.
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 23, 24
2. Which of the following is when humans first suspected the existence of microbes?
A. during the Industrial Revolution
B. in prehistoric times*
C. in the last century
D. within the last 500 years
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: 23
3. Which individual first observed unicellular organisms, which he called
“animalcules,” using a microscope he developed?
A. Robert Koch
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Thucydides
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 6
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists areincreasingly
using which of the following devices for easy, rapid benchtop sterilization of small
pieces of equipment?
A. autoclaves
B. ethylene oxide
C. incubators
D. microincinerators*
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: 36
, 5. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological
classification system is which of the following people?
A. Ernst Haeckel
B. Carolus Linnaeus*
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Robert Whittaker
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
6. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
A. Animalia
B. Fungi
C. Monera*
D. Protista
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya*
B. Archaea, Prokaryota, and Eukaryota
C. Bacteria, Fungi, and Protista
D. Bacteria, Prokaryota, and Eukarya
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
8. Which two taxonomic units are typically used to identify an organism when usingbinomial
nomenclature?
A. domain and kingdom
B. genus and family
C. genus and species*
D. phylum and class
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
9. Which of the following is not true about the process of fermentation?
A. It can help preserve foods, preventing spoilage.
B. It converts sugars to organic acids, alcohols, and/or gases such as carbon dioxide.
C. It is carried out exclusively by unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast.*
D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
MICROBIOLOGY CHAPTERS 1-26 | QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS | 2026
, Chapter 1: An Invisible World
* = Correct answer
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is true of the microbial world?
A. All microbes are harmful.
B. Humans could survive without microbes.
C. Many microbes are helpful.*
D. Most microbes are pathogenic.
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 23, 24
2. Which of the following is when humans first suspected the existence of microbes?
A. during the Industrial Revolution
B. in prehistoric times*
C. in the last century
D. within the last 500 years
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: 23
3. Which individual first observed unicellular organisms, which he called
“animalcules,” using a microscope he developed?
A. Robert Koch
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Thucydides
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 6
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists areincreasingly
using which of the following devices for easy, rapid benchtop sterilization of small
pieces of equipment?
A. autoclaves
B. ethylene oxide
C. incubators
D. microincinerators*
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: 36
, 5. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological
classification system is which of the following people?
A. Ernst Haeckel
B. Carolus Linnaeus*
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Robert Whittaker
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
6. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
A. Animalia
B. Fungi
C. Monera*
D. Protista
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya*
B. Archaea, Prokaryota, and Eukaryota
C. Bacteria, Fungi, and Protista
D. Bacteria, Prokaryota, and Eukarya
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
8. Which two taxonomic units are typically used to identify an organism when usingbinomial
nomenclature?
A. domain and kingdom
B. genus and family
C. genus and species*
D. phylum and class
Difficulty: Easy ASM
Standard: N/A
9. Which of the following is not true about the process of fermentation?
A. It can help preserve foods, preventing spoilage.
B. It converts sugars to organic acids, alcohols, and/or gases such as carbon dioxide.
C. It is carried out exclusively by unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast.*
D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
