MicroBio 4000: Exam #1Study Guide
Questions with Actual Detailed
Answers 2026-2027 Updated.
Microorganisms ("microbes") - Answer organisms that are too
small to be seen with the unaided eye
Microbiology - Answer - the study of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, viruses,
archaea, fungi and protozoa.
- includes research on the biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, ecology, evolution and clinical
aspects of microorganisms, including the host response to these agents
microbes are the... - Answer - the foundation for ALL life on Earth
- Life still depends on them today
- A few are Pathogens (disease-causing); most are beneficial
Three Domains - Answer - proposed by Carl Woese in the 1970s
- Based on ribosome RNA sequence
1. Bacteria (prokaryotic)
2. Archaea (prokaryotic)
3. Eukarya (eukaryotic)
Eukarya subgroups - Answer Algae
Protozoa
Fungi
Plants
Animals
All Penises F Poop Ass
,Bacteria - Answer - Single-celled
- Peptidoglycan cell walls
- Some are motile (flagella)
- Nutrition from organic or inorganic chemicals, or photosynthesis
Archaea - Answer - Similar to bacteria in shape and size
- Cell walls (NOT peptidoglycan)
- Some are motile (flagella)
- Nutrition from organic or inorganic chemicals
- Not pathogens
- Some can live in extreme environments - Extremophiles
Microbe Eukaryotes = - Answer fungi, algae, protozoa, multicellular parasites
Fungi - Answer - Cell walls - chitin
- Absorb organic chemicals for energy (decomposers)
- Yeasts are unicellular
- Molds and mushrooms are multicellular
- Some are pathogens
Algae - Answer - Diverse grouping of photosynthetic eukaryotes that are plants
- Cell walls (cellulose or pectin, or even silica - diatoms)
,- Found in freshwater, saltwater, and soil
- Multicellular and Unicellular species
- Pathogenesis is rare
- Produce oxygen and carbohydrates for others (bottom of the food chain)
Protozoa - Answer - Absorb or ingest organic chemicals for nutrition
- NO cell walls
- May be motile via pseudopods, cilia, or flagella
- Free-living or Parasitic (derive nutrients from a living host)
Multicellular Parasites - Answer - Not strictly microorganisms
- Parasitic flatworms and roundworms are called Helminths
- Some microscopic stages in their life cycles e.g. tapeworms, Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm)
Acellular Infectious Agents - Answer - needs living host for replication (nonliving)
- viruses, viroids, prions
Viruses - Answer - Consist of DNA or RNA core (genome)
- Genome is surrounded by a protein coat
- Coat may be enclosed in a lipid envelope
- Inert outside living hosts
, Viroids - Answer - Infectious RNA
- Found in some plants
Prions - Answer - Infectious proteins
Binomial System - Answer Identifying organisms by their genus and species names
EX. E. coli (k12/156:H7 strain)
Genus = Escherichia
coli = coli
Staphylococcus aureus Informal Naming - Answer "staphylococci" or "staph"
Robert Hooke - Answer - (1665) First to observe cells
Formed Cell theory: All living things are composed of little boxes, or "cells"
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Answer - 1600s, Observed "Animalcules" (protozoa) and microbes
- wrote about his findings to the Royal Society of London
Spontaneous generation - Answer - the hypothesis that life arises from
nonliving matter; a "vital force" is necessary for life
Biogenesis - Answer - the hypothesis that living cells arise only from preexisting living cells
Francesco Redi - Answer - 1668, filled sealed jars with decaying
meat; flies can't generate to show that Spontaneous generation was false
Louis Pasteur (1861) - Answer - demonstrated that microorganisms
are present in the air, broth, surfaces, etc.
Questions with Actual Detailed
Answers 2026-2027 Updated.
Microorganisms ("microbes") - Answer organisms that are too
small to be seen with the unaided eye
Microbiology - Answer - the study of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, viruses,
archaea, fungi and protozoa.
- includes research on the biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, ecology, evolution and clinical
aspects of microorganisms, including the host response to these agents
microbes are the... - Answer - the foundation for ALL life on Earth
- Life still depends on them today
- A few are Pathogens (disease-causing); most are beneficial
Three Domains - Answer - proposed by Carl Woese in the 1970s
- Based on ribosome RNA sequence
1. Bacteria (prokaryotic)
2. Archaea (prokaryotic)
3. Eukarya (eukaryotic)
Eukarya subgroups - Answer Algae
Protozoa
Fungi
Plants
Animals
All Penises F Poop Ass
,Bacteria - Answer - Single-celled
- Peptidoglycan cell walls
- Some are motile (flagella)
- Nutrition from organic or inorganic chemicals, or photosynthesis
Archaea - Answer - Similar to bacteria in shape and size
- Cell walls (NOT peptidoglycan)
- Some are motile (flagella)
- Nutrition from organic or inorganic chemicals
- Not pathogens
- Some can live in extreme environments - Extremophiles
Microbe Eukaryotes = - Answer fungi, algae, protozoa, multicellular parasites
Fungi - Answer - Cell walls - chitin
- Absorb organic chemicals for energy (decomposers)
- Yeasts are unicellular
- Molds and mushrooms are multicellular
- Some are pathogens
Algae - Answer - Diverse grouping of photosynthetic eukaryotes that are plants
- Cell walls (cellulose or pectin, or even silica - diatoms)
,- Found in freshwater, saltwater, and soil
- Multicellular and Unicellular species
- Pathogenesis is rare
- Produce oxygen and carbohydrates for others (bottom of the food chain)
Protozoa - Answer - Absorb or ingest organic chemicals for nutrition
- NO cell walls
- May be motile via pseudopods, cilia, or flagella
- Free-living or Parasitic (derive nutrients from a living host)
Multicellular Parasites - Answer - Not strictly microorganisms
- Parasitic flatworms and roundworms are called Helminths
- Some microscopic stages in their life cycles e.g. tapeworms, Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm)
Acellular Infectious Agents - Answer - needs living host for replication (nonliving)
- viruses, viroids, prions
Viruses - Answer - Consist of DNA or RNA core (genome)
- Genome is surrounded by a protein coat
- Coat may be enclosed in a lipid envelope
- Inert outside living hosts
, Viroids - Answer - Infectious RNA
- Found in some plants
Prions - Answer - Infectious proteins
Binomial System - Answer Identifying organisms by their genus and species names
EX. E. coli (k12/156:H7 strain)
Genus = Escherichia
coli = coli
Staphylococcus aureus Informal Naming - Answer "staphylococci" or "staph"
Robert Hooke - Answer - (1665) First to observe cells
Formed Cell theory: All living things are composed of little boxes, or "cells"
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Answer - 1600s, Observed "Animalcules" (protozoa) and microbes
- wrote about his findings to the Royal Society of London
Spontaneous generation - Answer - the hypothesis that life arises from
nonliving matter; a "vital force" is necessary for life
Biogenesis - Answer - the hypothesis that living cells arise only from preexisting living cells
Francesco Redi - Answer - 1668, filled sealed jars with decaying
meat; flies can't generate to show that Spontaneous generation was false
Louis Pasteur (1861) - Answer - demonstrated that microorganisms
are present in the air, broth, surfaces, etc.
