Microbiology - Comprehensive Final
Exam Complete Questions and
Correct Answers,.
Define Microbiology - Correct answerStudy of living organisms & acellular
biological entities too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope; study of
microorganisms
Types of organisms studied in microbiology & their branches of microbiology -
Correct answer**Living organisms:
o Bacteria - unicellular organisms
o Algae - unicellular organism that photosynthesize (does not cause disease)
o Protozoa - unicellular organism that are animal-like
o Fungi - unicellular or multicellular organisms (yeast or molds)
o Helminths - multicellular eukaryotic worms
**Acellular organisms (not alive):
o Viruses - infectious agents composed of protein and nucleic acid, must invade host
cell to multiply
o Viroids - infectious agents composed of only RNA (ribonucleic acid)
o Prions - infectious protiens (cause mad cow disease)
Distinguish between prokaryotic & eukaryotic - Correct answerProkaryotic -
no nuclues; 1 peice of DNA; no membrane bound organelles; includes all bacteria
Eukaryotic - nucleus; many pieces of chromosomal DNA; membrane bound organelles;
includes protistans, fungi, plantae; animalia
2 metric scales used to measure both bacteria & viruses (um & nm) - Correct
answer• Bacteria are measured with the micrometer scale
• Viruses are measured with the nanometer scale
2 theories on how living things arise (spontaneous generation & bio-genesis) -
Correct answer**Biogenesis - the idea that living things can only arise from
other living things (of the same kind); Examples - mice from mice; dogs from dogs;
bacteria from bacteria
**Abiogenesis - spontaneous generation. Early belief that some forms of life could arise
from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter; Examples - flies from
manure; old rags & thrown out food = mice; broth left unrefrigerated became cloudy =
microbes
,Contributions of Koch (Koch - Which etiological agent Koch used with his postulates to
prove the germ theory of disease) - Correct answer**Koch's contributions to
microbiology:
• Proved that germ theory of disease by finding the causative agent for Anthrax (Bacillus
anthracis)
• Created Koch's Postulates -
o Microbe must be present in every case of the disease but absent from healthy
organisms
o The suspected microbe must be isolated and grown in pure culture
o The same disease must result when the isolated microbe inoculated into a healthy
host
o The same microbe must be isolated again from the disease host
• Developed many of the lab techniques still used for lab today
o Developed culture media
o Developed dishware
o Developed methods for isolation
**Which organism did Koch first identify as an etiological agent of a disease?
• Bacillus anthracis - causative agent for Anthrax
Define Pathogen - Correct answer•Pathogen - Microorganism that can cause
disease in the normal healthy individual
•Parasite - microorganisms that live on or in the body of another organism
•Host - other organism that the parasite is living on or in
Define Normal Flora - Correct answerMicrobes that normally live in or on a
human and do not cause disease
Define Taxonomy - Correct answerWhat is taxonomy?
• Formal system for organizing, classifying and naming living things
• Originated by Carl Von Linne (Carolus Linneaus)
• Concerned with:
o Classification - orderly arrangement of organisms into 8 taxa groups
o Nomenclature - assigning names
o Identification - determining and recording traits of organisms for placement into
taxonomic schemes
Know order of the taxa - Correct answerKnow the order of taxa:
Largest to smallest
Did Green Popeye Come Over For Green Spinach?
o Domain
o Kingdom
o Phylum
o Class
,o Order
o Family
o Genus
o Species
Which Domains or Kingdoms contain prokaryotic or eukaryotic organisms that we
studied over the semester - Correct answer• Domain Bacteria - only
prokaryotic organisms
• Domain Archaea - only prokaryotic organisms
• Domain Eukarya - only eukaryotic organisms
• Kingdom - Monera - only prokaryotic organisms
• Kingdoms Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia - only eukaryotic organisms
How to write scientific name - Correct answerWhat is the binomial system?
Naming system that uses 2 names (genus and species)
• Genus - written first and capitalized
• Species - written second and lowercase
• If typed, both are italicized. If hand written, both are underlined.
Example - Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
Inspiration for names is extremely varied and often imaginative
List & describe 5 I's - Correct answero 1: Inoculation - introduction of a
sample into a container of media to produce a culture of observable growth. Virus need
live cells to grow - use bird embryo to grow viruses)
o 2: Incubation - the placement of the inoculated media in a specific temperature for a
set time to allow growth of the bacteria. 37C/98.6F optimal temp
o 3: Isolation - isolate a single colony on a petri plate to obtain a pure culture (streak
plate, pour plate, spread plate)
o 4: Inspection - observe the cultures for macroscopic growth of the bacteria, observe
microscopically for results of stains (used for unknown #1; gram stain, endospore stain,
acid/fast stain)
o 5: Information gathering - testing of cultures for biochemical and enzyme
characteristics and additionally with drug sensitivity, immunologic reactions, and genetic
makeup. (unknown #2)
o 6: Identification - results of tests and Bergey's Manual (microbiology bible) (used to
provide keys or charts) to identify the genus and species of the microorganism
Define Pure Culture - Correct answerOne microbe growing on or in the culture
medium
Define Mixed Culture - Correct answerMore than one microbe growing in
sample or culture medium
, Physical types of media (solid, liquid, semisolid) - Correct answerLiquid media
-
• Consistency like water; usually a broth (used in unknown #2)
• Used in test tube
• Contains no gelling agent = no agar
• Examples - nutrient broth, nitrate broth
Semisolid media -
• Used only for motility test
• Has a soft consistency
• Used in test tube
• Contains a small amount of agar (.3%-.5%)
• Examples - motility agar
Solid media -
Solid - provides a firm surface for colony formation
• Used in test tube or petri plate
• Contains larger amount of agar (1%-5%)
• Examples - nutrient sugar, TSA
What is agar & what organism is from & who suggested its use in the lab - Correct
answer**What is agar and what organism is used to make it?
• Agar is a complex polysaccharide isolated from the red algae - Gelidium
• They first tried using potatoes but potatoes became too mushy
o First used in Robert Koch's lab; Walther Hesse was his lab assistant; Fanny Hesse
(Walther's wife) suggested the use of agar in the lab.
**Whose lab was agar introduced into and who suggested agar as a possible gelling
agent for cultures?
• Robert Koch's lab & his lab assistant Walther Hesse's wife Fanny was the first to
suggest using agar in the lab.
Difference between simple vs. differential stain - Correct answer**Simple
Stain -
o Uses a single dye to stain bacterial cell
o Helps to distinguish shape, arrangement, and size of cells
o Examples - methylene blue, crystal violet
**Differential Stain -
o Uses 2 different colored dyes: primary and counter stain
o Used to distinguish different cell types or cell parts
o Examples - gram; acid fast; endospore
Exam Complete Questions and
Correct Answers,.
Define Microbiology - Correct answerStudy of living organisms & acellular
biological entities too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope; study of
microorganisms
Types of organisms studied in microbiology & their branches of microbiology -
Correct answer**Living organisms:
o Bacteria - unicellular organisms
o Algae - unicellular organism that photosynthesize (does not cause disease)
o Protozoa - unicellular organism that are animal-like
o Fungi - unicellular or multicellular organisms (yeast or molds)
o Helminths - multicellular eukaryotic worms
**Acellular organisms (not alive):
o Viruses - infectious agents composed of protein and nucleic acid, must invade host
cell to multiply
o Viroids - infectious agents composed of only RNA (ribonucleic acid)
o Prions - infectious protiens (cause mad cow disease)
Distinguish between prokaryotic & eukaryotic - Correct answerProkaryotic -
no nuclues; 1 peice of DNA; no membrane bound organelles; includes all bacteria
Eukaryotic - nucleus; many pieces of chromosomal DNA; membrane bound organelles;
includes protistans, fungi, plantae; animalia
2 metric scales used to measure both bacteria & viruses (um & nm) - Correct
answer• Bacteria are measured with the micrometer scale
• Viruses are measured with the nanometer scale
2 theories on how living things arise (spontaneous generation & bio-genesis) -
Correct answer**Biogenesis - the idea that living things can only arise from
other living things (of the same kind); Examples - mice from mice; dogs from dogs;
bacteria from bacteria
**Abiogenesis - spontaneous generation. Early belief that some forms of life could arise
from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter; Examples - flies from
manure; old rags & thrown out food = mice; broth left unrefrigerated became cloudy =
microbes
,Contributions of Koch (Koch - Which etiological agent Koch used with his postulates to
prove the germ theory of disease) - Correct answer**Koch's contributions to
microbiology:
• Proved that germ theory of disease by finding the causative agent for Anthrax (Bacillus
anthracis)
• Created Koch's Postulates -
o Microbe must be present in every case of the disease but absent from healthy
organisms
o The suspected microbe must be isolated and grown in pure culture
o The same disease must result when the isolated microbe inoculated into a healthy
host
o The same microbe must be isolated again from the disease host
• Developed many of the lab techniques still used for lab today
o Developed culture media
o Developed dishware
o Developed methods for isolation
**Which organism did Koch first identify as an etiological agent of a disease?
• Bacillus anthracis - causative agent for Anthrax
Define Pathogen - Correct answer•Pathogen - Microorganism that can cause
disease in the normal healthy individual
•Parasite - microorganisms that live on or in the body of another organism
•Host - other organism that the parasite is living on or in
Define Normal Flora - Correct answerMicrobes that normally live in or on a
human and do not cause disease
Define Taxonomy - Correct answerWhat is taxonomy?
• Formal system for organizing, classifying and naming living things
• Originated by Carl Von Linne (Carolus Linneaus)
• Concerned with:
o Classification - orderly arrangement of organisms into 8 taxa groups
o Nomenclature - assigning names
o Identification - determining and recording traits of organisms for placement into
taxonomic schemes
Know order of the taxa - Correct answerKnow the order of taxa:
Largest to smallest
Did Green Popeye Come Over For Green Spinach?
o Domain
o Kingdom
o Phylum
o Class
,o Order
o Family
o Genus
o Species
Which Domains or Kingdoms contain prokaryotic or eukaryotic organisms that we
studied over the semester - Correct answer• Domain Bacteria - only
prokaryotic organisms
• Domain Archaea - only prokaryotic organisms
• Domain Eukarya - only eukaryotic organisms
• Kingdom - Monera - only prokaryotic organisms
• Kingdoms Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia - only eukaryotic organisms
How to write scientific name - Correct answerWhat is the binomial system?
Naming system that uses 2 names (genus and species)
• Genus - written first and capitalized
• Species - written second and lowercase
• If typed, both are italicized. If hand written, both are underlined.
Example - Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
Inspiration for names is extremely varied and often imaginative
List & describe 5 I's - Correct answero 1: Inoculation - introduction of a
sample into a container of media to produce a culture of observable growth. Virus need
live cells to grow - use bird embryo to grow viruses)
o 2: Incubation - the placement of the inoculated media in a specific temperature for a
set time to allow growth of the bacteria. 37C/98.6F optimal temp
o 3: Isolation - isolate a single colony on a petri plate to obtain a pure culture (streak
plate, pour plate, spread plate)
o 4: Inspection - observe the cultures for macroscopic growth of the bacteria, observe
microscopically for results of stains (used for unknown #1; gram stain, endospore stain,
acid/fast stain)
o 5: Information gathering - testing of cultures for biochemical and enzyme
characteristics and additionally with drug sensitivity, immunologic reactions, and genetic
makeup. (unknown #2)
o 6: Identification - results of tests and Bergey's Manual (microbiology bible) (used to
provide keys or charts) to identify the genus and species of the microorganism
Define Pure Culture - Correct answerOne microbe growing on or in the culture
medium
Define Mixed Culture - Correct answerMore than one microbe growing in
sample or culture medium
, Physical types of media (solid, liquid, semisolid) - Correct answerLiquid media
-
• Consistency like water; usually a broth (used in unknown #2)
• Used in test tube
• Contains no gelling agent = no agar
• Examples - nutrient broth, nitrate broth
Semisolid media -
• Used only for motility test
• Has a soft consistency
• Used in test tube
• Contains a small amount of agar (.3%-.5%)
• Examples - motility agar
Solid media -
Solid - provides a firm surface for colony formation
• Used in test tube or petri plate
• Contains larger amount of agar (1%-5%)
• Examples - nutrient sugar, TSA
What is agar & what organism is from & who suggested its use in the lab - Correct
answer**What is agar and what organism is used to make it?
• Agar is a complex polysaccharide isolated from the red algae - Gelidium
• They first tried using potatoes but potatoes became too mushy
o First used in Robert Koch's lab; Walther Hesse was his lab assistant; Fanny Hesse
(Walther's wife) suggested the use of agar in the lab.
**Whose lab was agar introduced into and who suggested agar as a possible gelling
agent for cultures?
• Robert Koch's lab & his lab assistant Walther Hesse's wife Fanny was the first to
suggest using agar in the lab.
Difference between simple vs. differential stain - Correct answer**Simple
Stain -
o Uses a single dye to stain bacterial cell
o Helps to distinguish shape, arrangement, and size of cells
o Examples - methylene blue, crystal violet
**Differential Stain -
o Uses 2 different colored dyes: primary and counter stain
o Used to distinguish different cell types or cell parts
o Examples - gram; acid fast; endospore
