OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank / OSX Microbiology
Test Bank - Chapter 01 to Chapter 26 2024 Update
(Multiple Choice, True/False, Matching, Fill in the Blank, Short Answers
& Brief Essay)
Chapter 1 : An Invisible World
Chapter 2 : How We See the Invisible World
Chapter 3 : The Cell
Chapter 4 : Prokaryotic Diversity
Chapter 5 : The Eukaryotes of Microbiology
Chapter 6 : Acellular Pathogens
Chapter 7 : Microbial
Biochemistry Chapter 8 :
Microbial Metabolism Chapter
9 : Microbial Growth
Chapter 10 : Biochemistry of the Genome
Chapter 11 : Mechanisms of Microbial
Genetics
Chapter 12 : Modern Applications of Microbial Genetics
Chapter 13 : Control of Microbial Growth
Chapter 14 : Antimicrobial Drugs
Chapter 15 : Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity
Chapter 16 : Disease and Epidemiology
Chapter 17 : Innate Nonspecific Host
Defenses Chapter 18 : Adaptive Specific
Host Defenses Chapter 19 : Diseases of the
Immune System
Chapter 20 : Įaboratory Analysis of the Immune
Response Chapter 21 : Skin and Eye Infections
Chapter 22 : Respiratory System Infections
Chapter 23 : Urogenital System Infections
Chapter 24 : Digestive System Infections
Chapter 25 : Circulatory and Įymphatic System Infections
Chapter 26 : Nervous System Infections Description
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
* (correct answer) =
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.* (correct answer)
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* (correct answer)
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* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 6
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists are increasingly 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* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 36
Page 1 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
5. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
A. Animalia
B. Fungi
C. Monera* (correct answer)
D. Protista
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
6. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological classification
system is which of the following people?
A. Ernst Haeckel
B. Carolus Linnaeus* (correct answer)
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Robert Whittaker
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya* (correct answer)
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 using binomial
nomenclature?
A. domain and kingdom
B. genus and family
C. genus and species* (correct answer)
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.* (correct answer)
D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 11, 23, 26
Page 2 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
10. For which of the following is Thucydides known?
A. developing an effective sewer system in ancient Greece, helping to reduce levels of
disease in cities
B. observing microbes, using a microscope, for the first time, even distinguishing between
bacteria and fungi
C. proposing that disease was caused by microorganisms
D. realizing that people who had been infected by the Athenian plague had immunity to
reinfection* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23, 31
11. The Romans may have reduced their risk of waterborne infectious diseases by using which of
the following?
A. a variety of pharmaceutical products
B. aqueducts and a sewer system* (correct answer)
C. prophylactic antibiotics
D. quarantine of people with leprosy
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23
12. Ernst Haeckel proposed a classification system consisting of which of the following
subgroups?
A. five kingdoms
B. four kingdoms* (correct answer)
C. two domains and three kingdoms
D. two domains and five kingdoms
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
13. Viruses not included in phylogenetic trees for which of the following reasons?
A. It is too difficult to observe their characteristics.
B. They are acellular and nonliving.* (correct answer)
C. They do not have any genes, which prevents genetic analysis.
D. They lack a nucleus.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
14. Which is the best description of the primary purpose of a phylogeny?
A. Phylogenies show all the alterative names for each species.
B. Phylogenies show all the common names for each species.
C. Phylogenies show evolutionary relatedness between organisms.* (correct answer)
Page 3 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
D. Phylogenies show interactions between species in a shared habitat.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
15. Current phylogenetic analyses include which of the following?
A. information from a range of sources, including morphological, genetic, and biochemical
data* (correct answer)
B. information on visible similarities only
C. information regarding how to classify organisms on the basis of external morphological
characteristics and visible behaviors
D. varied morphological and structural characteristics, with preference for leaving historical
classifications to prevent confusion
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
16. Diatoms are classified within which of the following domains?
A. Archaea
B. Bacteria
C. Eukarya* (correct answer)
D. Prokaryota
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
17. Horizontal gene transfer involves which of the following?
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 other form of
gene transfer
C. the transfer of genes from one individual to another, including from one species to
another, but not from parent to offspring* (correct answer)
D. the transfer of genes from parent to offspring
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 2, 4
18. Bacteria are generally identified to species by using which of the following?
A. a combination of genetic, biochemical, and microscopic approaches* (correct answer)
B. a combination of microscopic and physiological approaches, but not genetics
C. primarily characteristics such as motility that can be visualized using microscopy
D. primarily morphological characteristics of individual cells
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34, 36
Page 4 of 17
, OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
19. For taxonomic classification of microbes, serological tests typically are used to do which of
the following?
A. determine complete genome sequences for microbes
B. identify proteins on the basis of their reaction with specific antibodies* (correct answer)
C. run analyses to identify whether particular genes are present
D. visualize microbial external morphology
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34, 36
20. Which of the following is true of bacterial strains?
A. They are closely related subtypes within a bacterial species that may or may not have
similar properties.* (correct answer)
B. They are informal bacterial groupings used for medical distinctions but not recognized for
classification purposes.
C. They are more distantly related to each other than are members of a single bacterial
species.
D. They are very similar bacteria with almost identical properties.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
21. Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is used primarily as which of the following?
A. a guide to bacterial shapes
B. a historical account of changes in classification techniques
C. a list and characterization of all known medically relevant microbes
D. a reference for bacterial classification* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34
22. Which of the following indicates how bacteria and viruses typically compare in size?
A. Bacteria are indistinguishable from viruses.
B. Bacteria are much larger than viruses.* (correct answer)
C. Bacteria are much smaller than viruses.
D. Bacteria are similar in size to viruses.
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
23. Viruses are classified as which of the following?
A. Archaea
B. Bacteria
C. Eukarya
D. distinct from the three-domain system* (correct answer)
Page 5 of 17
Test Bank - Chapter 01 to Chapter 26 2024 Update
(Multiple Choice, True/False, Matching, Fill in the Blank, Short Answers
& Brief Essay)
Chapter 1 : An Invisible World
Chapter 2 : How We See the Invisible World
Chapter 3 : The Cell
Chapter 4 : Prokaryotic Diversity
Chapter 5 : The Eukaryotes of Microbiology
Chapter 6 : Acellular Pathogens
Chapter 7 : Microbial
Biochemistry Chapter 8 :
Microbial Metabolism Chapter
9 : Microbial Growth
Chapter 10 : Biochemistry of the Genome
Chapter 11 : Mechanisms of Microbial
Genetics
Chapter 12 : Modern Applications of Microbial Genetics
Chapter 13 : Control of Microbial Growth
Chapter 14 : Antimicrobial Drugs
Chapter 15 : Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity
Chapter 16 : Disease and Epidemiology
Chapter 17 : Innate Nonspecific Host
Defenses Chapter 18 : Adaptive Specific
Host Defenses Chapter 19 : Diseases of the
Immune System
Chapter 20 : Įaboratory Analysis of the Immune
Response Chapter 21 : Skin and Eye Infections
Chapter 22 : Respiratory System Infections
Chapter 23 : Urogenital System Infections
Chapter 24 : Digestive System Infections
Chapter 25 : Circulatory and Įymphatic System Infections
Chapter 26 : Nervous System Infections Description
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
* (correct answer) =
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.* (correct answer)
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* (correct answer)
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* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 6
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists are increasingly 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* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 36
Page 1 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
5. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
A. Animalia
B. Fungi
C. Monera* (correct answer)
D. Protista
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
6. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological classification
system is which of the following people?
A. Ernst Haeckel
B. Carolus Linnaeus* (correct answer)
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Robert Whittaker
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya* (correct answer)
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 using binomial
nomenclature?
A. domain and kingdom
B. genus and family
C. genus and species* (correct answer)
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.* (correct answer)
D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 11, 23, 26
Page 2 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
10. For which of the following is Thucydides known?
A. developing an effective sewer system in ancient Greece, helping to reduce levels of
disease in cities
B. observing microbes, using a microscope, for the first time, even distinguishing between
bacteria and fungi
C. proposing that disease was caused by microorganisms
D. realizing that people who had been infected by the Athenian plague had immunity to
reinfection* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23, 31
11. The Romans may have reduced their risk of waterborne infectious diseases by using which of
the following?
A. a variety of pharmaceutical products
B. aqueducts and a sewer system* (correct answer)
C. prophylactic antibiotics
D. quarantine of people with leprosy
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 23
12. Ernst Haeckel proposed a classification system consisting of which of the following
subgroups?
A. five kingdoms
B. four kingdoms* (correct answer)
C. two domains and three kingdoms
D. two domains and five kingdoms
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
13. Viruses not included in phylogenetic trees for which of the following reasons?
A. It is too difficult to observe their characteristics.
B. They are acellular and nonliving.* (correct answer)
C. They do not have any genes, which prevents genetic analysis.
D. They lack a nucleus.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
14. Which is the best description of the primary purpose of a phylogeny?
A. Phylogenies show all the alterative names for each species.
B. Phylogenies show all the common names for each species.
C. Phylogenies show evolutionary relatedness between organisms.* (correct answer)
Page 3 of 17
,OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
D. Phylogenies show interactions between species in a shared habitat.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
15. Current phylogenetic analyses include which of the following?
A. information from a range of sources, including morphological, genetic, and biochemical
data* (correct answer)
B. information on visible similarities only
C. information regarding how to classify organisms on the basis of external morphological
characteristics and visible behaviors
D. varied morphological and structural characteristics, with preference for leaving historical
classifications to prevent confusion
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
16. Diatoms are classified within which of the following domains?
A. Archaea
B. Bacteria
C. Eukarya* (correct answer)
D. Prokaryota
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: N/A
17. Horizontal gene transfer involves which of the following?
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 other form of
gene transfer
C. the transfer of genes from one individual to another, including from one species to
another, but not from parent to offspring* (correct answer)
D. the transfer of genes from parent to offspring
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 2, 4
18. Bacteria are generally identified to species by using which of the following?
A. a combination of genetic, biochemical, and microscopic approaches* (correct answer)
B. a combination of microscopic and physiological approaches, but not genetics
C. primarily characteristics such as motility that can be visualized using microscopy
D. primarily morphological characteristics of individual cells
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34, 36
Page 4 of 17
, OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
19. For taxonomic classification of microbes, serological tests typically are used to do which of
the following?
A. determine complete genome sequences for microbes
B. identify proteins on the basis of their reaction with specific antibodies* (correct answer)
C. run analyses to identify whether particular genes are present
D. visualize microbial external morphology
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34, 36
20. Which of the following is true of bacterial strains?
A. They are closely related subtypes within a bacterial species that may or may not have
similar properties.* (correct answer)
B. They are informal bacterial groupings used for medical distinctions but not recognized for
classification purposes.
C. They are more distantly related to each other than are members of a single bacterial
species.
D. They are very similar bacteria with almost identical properties.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 5
21. Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is used primarily as which of the following?
A. a guide to bacterial shapes
B. a historical account of changes in classification techniques
C. a list and characterization of all known medically relevant microbes
D. a reference for bacterial classification* (correct answer)
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 34
22. Which of the following indicates how bacteria and viruses typically compare in size?
A. Bacteria are indistinguishable from viruses.
B. Bacteria are much larger than viruses.* (correct answer)
C. Bacteria are much smaller than viruses.
D. Bacteria are similar in size to viruses.
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
23. Viruses are classified as which of the following?
A. Archaea
B. Bacteria
C. Eukarya
D. distinct from the three-domain system* (correct answer)
Page 5 of 17
