Westcott Micro bio Final Exam | Complete
Practice Examination | Study Guide | Up to
Date 2025/2026 Latest Exam Questions And
Answers Complete Study Guide Exam Prep
Practice Test.
Q1. Who is credited with first observing microorganisms using a simple
microscope?
A) Robert Hooke
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Louis Pasteur
D) Francesco Redi
Correct Answer: B
Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms
("animalcules") using handcrafted microscopes in the 17th century. He is considered the
"Father of Microbiology." Hooke observed cells in cork; Pasteur disproved spontaneous
generation; Redi disproved spontaneous generation of maggots .
Q2. Who is considered the "father of Western medicine"?
A) Marcus Terentius Varro
B) Thucydides
C) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
D) Hippocrates
Correct Answer: D
,Hippocrates established medicine as a discipline distinct from philosophy and religion. He
is credited with the Hippocratic Oath. Marcus Terentius Varro proposed that swamps
might harbor tiny disease-causing organisms .
Q3. Who proposed that swamps might harbor tiny, disease-causing animals too
small to see?
A) Thucydides
B) Marcus Terentius Varro
C) Hippocrates
D) Louis Pasteur
Correct Answer: B
Marcus Terentius Varro proposed that swamps might harbor tiny, disease-causing animals
too small to be seen with the naked eye. This was one of the earliest recorded ideas about
microbial disease transmission .
Q4. Which scientist's experiments with swan-neck flasks finally disproved
spontaneous generation?
A) John Needham
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Lazzaro Spallanzani
D) Francesco Redi
Correct Answer: B
Pasteur's swan-necked flask allowed air to enter but trapped dust and microbes in the
bend of the neck, preventing contamination. The broth remained sterile until the flask was
tilted. This experiment definitively disproved spontaneous generation .
,Q5. Which scientist is responsible for developing the experimental procedure to
prove a specific microbe causes a specific infectious disease?
A) John Needham
B) Rosalind Franklin
C) Lazzaro Spallanzani
D) Robert Koch
Correct Answer: D
Robert Koch developed Koch's Postulates, a series of criteria used to establish a causal
relationship between a specific microorganism and a specific disease. This was a
foundational contribution to medical microbiology .
Q6. Which scientist proposed adding a kingdom for protists?
A) Carolus Linnaeus
B) Carl Woese
C) Robert Whittaker
D) Ernst Haeckel
Correct Answer: D
Ernst Haeckel proposed adding a kingdom for protists, recognizing that single-celled
organisms did not fit neatly into the plant or animal kingdoms. Linnaeus developed the
original two-kingdom system. Whittaker proposed the five-kingdom system .
Q7. Which of the following was NOT a kingdom in Linnaeus's taxonomy?
A) animal
B) mineral
C) protist
D) plant
Correct Answer: C
, Linnaeus's original taxonomy included only two kingdoms: Plantae and Animalia. The
protist kingdom was added later by Haeckel. Linnaeus did not include a mineral kingdom
in his biological taxonomy .
Q8. Which of the following is the standard resource for identifying bacteria?
A) Systema Naturae
B) Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology
C) Woese and Fox's phylogenetic tree
D) Haeckel's General Morphology of Organisms
Correct Answer: B
Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology is the standard reference for identifying
bacteria based on phenotypic characteristics. Systema Naturae is Linnaeus's classification
system .
Q9. Which of the following foods is NOT made by fermentation?
A) Beer
B) Bread
C) Cheese
D) Orange juice
Correct Answer: D
Orange juice is not made by fermentation; it is typically produced by mechanical
extraction and pasteurization. Beer is produced by yeast fermentation of grains. Bread is
leavened by yeast fermentation. Cheese is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk .
Q10. Which scientist pioneered antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid?
Practice Examination | Study Guide | Up to
Date 2025/2026 Latest Exam Questions And
Answers Complete Study Guide Exam Prep
Practice Test.
Q1. Who is credited with first observing microorganisms using a simple
microscope?
A) Robert Hooke
B) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
C) Louis Pasteur
D) Francesco Redi
Correct Answer: B
Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms
("animalcules") using handcrafted microscopes in the 17th century. He is considered the
"Father of Microbiology." Hooke observed cells in cork; Pasteur disproved spontaneous
generation; Redi disproved spontaneous generation of maggots .
Q2. Who is considered the "father of Western medicine"?
A) Marcus Terentius Varro
B) Thucydides
C) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
D) Hippocrates
Correct Answer: D
,Hippocrates established medicine as a discipline distinct from philosophy and religion. He
is credited with the Hippocratic Oath. Marcus Terentius Varro proposed that swamps
might harbor tiny disease-causing organisms .
Q3. Who proposed that swamps might harbor tiny, disease-causing animals too
small to see?
A) Thucydides
B) Marcus Terentius Varro
C) Hippocrates
D) Louis Pasteur
Correct Answer: B
Marcus Terentius Varro proposed that swamps might harbor tiny, disease-causing animals
too small to be seen with the naked eye. This was one of the earliest recorded ideas about
microbial disease transmission .
Q4. Which scientist's experiments with swan-neck flasks finally disproved
spontaneous generation?
A) John Needham
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Lazzaro Spallanzani
D) Francesco Redi
Correct Answer: B
Pasteur's swan-necked flask allowed air to enter but trapped dust and microbes in the
bend of the neck, preventing contamination. The broth remained sterile until the flask was
tilted. This experiment definitively disproved spontaneous generation .
,Q5. Which scientist is responsible for developing the experimental procedure to
prove a specific microbe causes a specific infectious disease?
A) John Needham
B) Rosalind Franklin
C) Lazzaro Spallanzani
D) Robert Koch
Correct Answer: D
Robert Koch developed Koch's Postulates, a series of criteria used to establish a causal
relationship between a specific microorganism and a specific disease. This was a
foundational contribution to medical microbiology .
Q6. Which scientist proposed adding a kingdom for protists?
A) Carolus Linnaeus
B) Carl Woese
C) Robert Whittaker
D) Ernst Haeckel
Correct Answer: D
Ernst Haeckel proposed adding a kingdom for protists, recognizing that single-celled
organisms did not fit neatly into the plant or animal kingdoms. Linnaeus developed the
original two-kingdom system. Whittaker proposed the five-kingdom system .
Q7. Which of the following was NOT a kingdom in Linnaeus's taxonomy?
A) animal
B) mineral
C) protist
D) plant
Correct Answer: C
, Linnaeus's original taxonomy included only two kingdoms: Plantae and Animalia. The
protist kingdom was added later by Haeckel. Linnaeus did not include a mineral kingdom
in his biological taxonomy .
Q8. Which of the following is the standard resource for identifying bacteria?
A) Systema Naturae
B) Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology
C) Woese and Fox's phylogenetic tree
D) Haeckel's General Morphology of Organisms
Correct Answer: B
Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology is the standard reference for identifying
bacteria based on phenotypic characteristics. Systema Naturae is Linnaeus's classification
system .
Q9. Which of the following foods is NOT made by fermentation?
A) Beer
B) Bread
C) Cheese
D) Orange juice
Correct Answer: D
Orange juice is not made by fermentation; it is typically produced by mechanical
extraction and pasteurization. Beer is produced by yeast fermentation of grains. Bread is
leavened by yeast fermentation. Cheese is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk .
Q10. Which scientist pioneered antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid?
