BMS 127 MIDTERM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS - UPDATED EDITION 2026/2027
1. What is one of the best ways to study material?
ANSWER : Teach the material to someone else.
2. How much study time should you budget for each hour of
lecture?
ANSWER : Approximately 3 hours of study and reading time for
every 1 hour of lecture.
3. How should you approach reading the assigned material?
ANSWER : Read it casually once before the lecture, then carefully
review the relevant sections after the lecture.
4. How should you approach taking notes?
ANSWER : Take notes while reading after the lecture, incorporate
them with your lecture notes, and then rewrite all your notes.
5. What is considered the Golden Age of Microbiology?
ANSWER : The period from approximately 1870 to 1910.
6. What is an example of the role of microbes in agriculture?
ANSWER : Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in legume root nodules and
convert nitrogen into forms plants can use. Planting legumes can
enrich soil, and crop rotation can make use of the available
nitrogen.
7. How are microbes used in bioremediation?
ANSWER : Some bacteria consume or break down oil and can
therefore help clean up oil spills.
,8. What is an example of microbial symbiosis?
ANSWER : Vibrio fischeri lives in Hawaiian bobtail squid and
produces light that helps the nocturnal squid camouflage itself from
predators.
9. What is symbiosis?
ANSWER : Symbiosis is a close relationship in which two different
species live together.
10. What is a pathogen?
ANSWER : A pathogen is a disease-causing microorganism.
11. What is an opportunistic pathogen?
ANSWER : An opportunistic pathogen causes disease primarily
when normal host defenses are weakened or compromised.
12. What is a true pathogen?
ANSWER : A true pathogen can cause disease under normal
circumstances in a susceptible host.
13. What is a saprobe?
ANSWER : A saprobe is an organism that obtains nutrients by
consuming or decomposing dead organic matter.
14. What did Antoni van Leeuwenhoek contribute to
microbiology?
ANSWER : He developed early microscopes and was among the
first to observe and describe microorganisms.
15. What did Robert Hooke contribute to biology?
ANSWER : Using a compound microscope, he observed cells and
concluded that larger organisms were composed of microscopic
structures called cells.
16. What are three major contributions of Louis Pasteur?
ANSWER : He developed a rabies vaccine, introduced
pasteurization as a food-preservation method, and provided
evidence against spontaneous generation.
17. What did Alexander Fleming discover?
ANSWER : He discovered penicillin, one of the first widely
recognized antibiotics.
, 18. What did Edward Jenner accomplish in 1796?
ANSWER : He developed the smallpox vaccine.
19. What were Robert Koch's major contributions to
microbiology?
ANSWER : He identified the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis,
developed the streak-plate technique for isolating bacteria, and
became known as a major founder of modern microbiology.
20. What did Carolus Linnaeus contribute to biology?
ANSWER : He developed binomial nomenclature and is regarded as
the father of taxonomy.
21. What did Joseph Lister contribute to medicine?
ANSWER : He demonstrated the importance of antiseptics in
preventing infections and introduced antiseptic practices into
surgery.
22. What did Florence Nightingale contribute to healthcare?
ANSWER : She established sanitary nursing practices and is
considered a founder of modern nursing.
23. What did Ignaz Semmelweis discover about infection
prevention?
ANSWER : He demonstrated that handwashing could significantly
reduce cases of childbed fever.
24. Why is John Snow considered a father of epidemiology?
ANSWER : He investigated and mapped cholera cases, helping
establish the connection between contaminated water and disease
transmission.
25. What type of reaction forms larger biological molecules
from smaller molecules?
ANSWER : Dehydration synthesis.
26. What type of reaction breaks larger molecules into
smaller components using water?
ANSWER : Hydrolysis.
27. What type of bonds connect carbohydrates?
ANSWER : Covalent bonds, specifically glycosidic linkages between
monosaccharides.
ANSWERS - UPDATED EDITION 2026/2027
1. What is one of the best ways to study material?
ANSWER : Teach the material to someone else.
2. How much study time should you budget for each hour of
lecture?
ANSWER : Approximately 3 hours of study and reading time for
every 1 hour of lecture.
3. How should you approach reading the assigned material?
ANSWER : Read it casually once before the lecture, then carefully
review the relevant sections after the lecture.
4. How should you approach taking notes?
ANSWER : Take notes while reading after the lecture, incorporate
them with your lecture notes, and then rewrite all your notes.
5. What is considered the Golden Age of Microbiology?
ANSWER : The period from approximately 1870 to 1910.
6. What is an example of the role of microbes in agriculture?
ANSWER : Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in legume root nodules and
convert nitrogen into forms plants can use. Planting legumes can
enrich soil, and crop rotation can make use of the available
nitrogen.
7. How are microbes used in bioremediation?
ANSWER : Some bacteria consume or break down oil and can
therefore help clean up oil spills.
,8. What is an example of microbial symbiosis?
ANSWER : Vibrio fischeri lives in Hawaiian bobtail squid and
produces light that helps the nocturnal squid camouflage itself from
predators.
9. What is symbiosis?
ANSWER : Symbiosis is a close relationship in which two different
species live together.
10. What is a pathogen?
ANSWER : A pathogen is a disease-causing microorganism.
11. What is an opportunistic pathogen?
ANSWER : An opportunistic pathogen causes disease primarily
when normal host defenses are weakened or compromised.
12. What is a true pathogen?
ANSWER : A true pathogen can cause disease under normal
circumstances in a susceptible host.
13. What is a saprobe?
ANSWER : A saprobe is an organism that obtains nutrients by
consuming or decomposing dead organic matter.
14. What did Antoni van Leeuwenhoek contribute to
microbiology?
ANSWER : He developed early microscopes and was among the
first to observe and describe microorganisms.
15. What did Robert Hooke contribute to biology?
ANSWER : Using a compound microscope, he observed cells and
concluded that larger organisms were composed of microscopic
structures called cells.
16. What are three major contributions of Louis Pasteur?
ANSWER : He developed a rabies vaccine, introduced
pasteurization as a food-preservation method, and provided
evidence against spontaneous generation.
17. What did Alexander Fleming discover?
ANSWER : He discovered penicillin, one of the first widely
recognized antibiotics.
, 18. What did Edward Jenner accomplish in 1796?
ANSWER : He developed the smallpox vaccine.
19. What were Robert Koch's major contributions to
microbiology?
ANSWER : He identified the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis,
developed the streak-plate technique for isolating bacteria, and
became known as a major founder of modern microbiology.
20. What did Carolus Linnaeus contribute to biology?
ANSWER : He developed binomial nomenclature and is regarded as
the father of taxonomy.
21. What did Joseph Lister contribute to medicine?
ANSWER : He demonstrated the importance of antiseptics in
preventing infections and introduced antiseptic practices into
surgery.
22. What did Florence Nightingale contribute to healthcare?
ANSWER : She established sanitary nursing practices and is
considered a founder of modern nursing.
23. What did Ignaz Semmelweis discover about infection
prevention?
ANSWER : He demonstrated that handwashing could significantly
reduce cases of childbed fever.
24. Why is John Snow considered a father of epidemiology?
ANSWER : He investigated and mapped cholera cases, helping
establish the connection between contaminated water and disease
transmission.
25. What type of reaction forms larger biological molecules
from smaller molecules?
ANSWER : Dehydration synthesis.
26. What type of reaction breaks larger molecules into
smaller components using water?
ANSWER : Hydrolysis.
27. What type of bonds connect carbohydrates?
ANSWER : Covalent bonds, specifically glycosidic linkages between
monosaccharides.
