QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS & RATIONALES
1. What is the #1 cause of bacterial diarrhea?
A) Escherichia coli
B) Salmonella enterica
C) Campylobacter
D) Shigella dysenteriae
Correct Answer: C – Campylobacter is the most common bacterial
cause of diarrheal illness worldwide.
2. Which of the following are the three domains of life?
A) Eukarya, Archaea, Eubacteria
B) Animalia, Plantae, Fungi
C) Protista, Monera, Fungi
D) Bacteria, Viruses, Eukarya
Correct Answer: A – The three domains are Eukarya, Archaea, and
Eubacteria (Bacteria).
3. What is abiogenesis?
A) The origin of life from pre-existing life
B) Spontaneous generation – living material comes from nonliving
matter
C) The creation of life through divine intervention
D) The evolution of species over time
Correct Answer: B – Abiogenesis refers to the now-disproven concept
of spontaneous generation.
,4. What does "acid-fast" refer to in microbiology?
A) Ability to survive acidic environments
B) Staining property where cells hold fast to dye (AFB+)
C) Rapid growth in acidic media
D) Resistance to acid degradation
Correct Answer: B – Acid-fast organisms retain the primary dye even
after acid-alcohol decolorization.
5. Which immunity is specific, induced, recognizes conserved and
nonconserved regions, and produces memory?
A) Innate immunity
B) Acquired/adapted immunity
C) Passive immunity
D) Natural immunity
Correct Answer: B – Acquired immunity has specificity, inducibility,
recognition of diverse antigens, and memory.
6. What are algae?
A) Photosynthetic prokaryotes that live in terrestrial environments
B) Photosynthetic eukaryotes that live in aqueous environments
C) Non-photosynthetic eukaryotes found in soil
D) Chemosynthetic bacteria found in deep-sea vents
Correct Answer: B – Algae are eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms
primarily found in aquatic habitats.
7. What is the measurement of an angstrom?
A) 10^-9 m
B) 10^-10 m
C) 10^-8 m
,D) 10^-12 m
Correct Answer: B – An angstrom (Å) is equal to 10^-10 meters.
8. What is another name for the axial filament?
A) Periplasmic flagellum
B) Endoflagellum
C) Fimbria
D) Pilus
Correct Answer: B – The axial filament is also called the endoflagellum.
9. What is another name for differential interference microscopy?
A) Brightfield
B) Phase-contrast
C) Nomarski
D) Darkfield
Correct Answer: C – Nomarski is another name for differential
interference contrast microscopy.
10. Who discovered animalcules and reported them to the Royal
Society but failed to share his microscopy expertise?
A) Robert Hooke
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Anthony van Leeuwenhoek
D) Ferdinand Cohn
Correct Answer: C – Leeuwenhoek discovered animalcules but did not
reveal his microscopy methods.
11. What is an antigen?
A) A substance that inhibits immune responses
B) Any substance capable of inducing an immune response
C) A type of white blood cell
, D) A protein that destroys pathogens
Correct Answer: B – Antigens are molecules that trigger specific
immune responses.
12. What are the antigen receptors on B cells called?
A) TCR
B) Immunoglobulin/antibody
C) MHC molecules
D) Cytokines
Correct Answer: B – B cells use immunoglobulins (antibodies) as
antigen receptors.
13. What are the antigen receptors on T cells called?
A) Immunoglobulin
B) TCR (T-cell receptor)
C) CD markers
D) Complement proteins
Correct Answer: B – T cells express T-cell receptors (TCR) for antigen
recognition.
14. Which type of microbiology includes food, environmental,
industrial, pharmaceutical, and recombinant DNA technology?
A) Pure microbiology
B) Applied microbiology
C) Medical microbiology
D) Theoretical microbiology
Correct Answer: B – Applied microbiology utilizes microorganisms in
various practical fields.
15. Which domain includes prokaryotes living in extreme
environments?