BOC ASCP Exam Prep Comprehensive ASCP Board of
Certification EXAM LATEST VERSION 2026-2027
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which type of microscope would be most useful in examining viruses and the structure of
microbial cells?
electron
phase-contrast
dark-field
bright-field - answer>>a (Due to the small size of viruses, they are not visible using
light microscopy. Electron microscopy is used to visualize viruses and the internal
structure of microorganisms.)
After satisfactory performance of daily disk diffusion susceptibility quality control is
documented, the frequency of quality control can be reduced to:
twice a week
every week
every other week
every month - answer>>b (Daily disk diffusion quality control can be converted to
weekly testing when 30 days of consecutive testing demonstrates no more than 3
antibiotic/organism combinations outside of the acceptable limits.)
In disk diffusion susceptibility testing, as a antimicrobial agent diffuses away from the disk,
the concentration antibiotic is:
increased
decreased
unchanged
inoculum dependent - answer>>b (The amount of antibiotic used in disk diffusion
susceptibility testing is standardized and constant. Once the disk is placed on the
inoculated plate and makes contact with the agar, the antibiotic in the disk begins to
, diffuse out. As it diffuses into the media, the concentration of antibiotic gets lower
the further it diffuses from the disk.)
The most common cause for failure of a Gas Pak anaerobic jar to establish an adequate
environment for anaerobic incubation is:
the failure of the oxidation reduction potential indicator system due to
deterioration of methylene blue
the failure of the packet to generate adequate H2 and/or CO2
condensation of water on the inner surface of the jar
catalysts that have become inactivated after repeated use - answer>>d (The 2 most
common causes of failure of the Gas Pak system is a defective gasket in the jar lid
that allows escape of gas from inside the jar and inactivated catalyst pellets.)
Which of the following specimen requests is acceptable?
feces submitted for anaerobic culture
Foley catheter tip submitted for aerobic culture
rectal swab submitted for direct smear for gonococci
urine for culture of acid-fast bacilli - answer>>d (Urine is an appropriate specimen
for the detection of renal tuberculosis. Since feces contain anaerobic organisms as
part of the indigenous flora, it is an unacceptable specimen for anaerobic culture.
Foley catheter tips are also not acceptable for culture, because they are
contaminated with colonizing organisms. Gram stain smears of rectal swabs for N
gonorrhoeae should also not be performed, since the presence of organisms with
similar morphologies may lead to over interpretation of smears.)
Which of the following groups of specimens would be acceptable for anaerobic culture?
vaginal, eye
ear, leg tissue
pleural fluid, brain abscess
urine, sputum - answer>>c (Materials collected from sites not harboring indigenous
flora [sterile body fluids, abscess exudate and tissue] should be cultured for
anaerobic bacteria. However, since anaerobes normally inhabit the skin and mucus
, membranes as part of the indigenous flora, specimens such as urine, sputum, and
vaginal, eye and ear swabs are not acceptable for culture.)
A liquid fecal specimen from a 3 month old infant is submitted for microbiological exam. In
addition to culture on routine media for Salmonella and Shigella, this specimen should be
routinely:
examined for the presence of Entamoeba hartmanni
examined for the presence of Campylobacter sp.
screened for the detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
placed in thioglycollate broth to detect Clostridium botulinum - answer>>b
(Campylobacter continues to be the most common enteric pathogen isolated from
patients with diarrhea. Routinely fecal specimens should be cultured for Salmonella,
Shigella and Campylobacter. Fecal specimens are not routinely cultured for
enterotoxigenic E coli or C botulinum. E hartmanni is a nonpathogenic parasite and
does not cause diarrhea.)
Cerebrospinal fluid from a febrile 25 yr. old man with possible meningitis is rushed to the
lab for a stat gram stain and culture. While performing the gram stain, the tech accidently
spills most of the specimen. The smear shows many neutrophils and no microorganisms.
Since there is only enough CSH to inoculate one plate, the tech should use a:
blood agar plate
chopped meat glucose
chocolate agar plate
Thayer-Martin plate - answer>>c (Enriched media such as chocolate agar has no
inhibitory effects on bacterial growth and contains additional nutrients that support
the growth of fastidious organisms such as H influenzae and Neisseria.)
Which of the following is the most appropriate specimen source and primary media
battery?
endocervical - chocolate, Martin Lewis
sputum - sheep blood, Thayer-Martin, KV-laked blood
CSF - Columbia CNA, MacConkey
, urine - sheep blood, chocolate, Columbia CNA - answer>>a (Chocolate agar and
chocolate agar-based selective media [Martin Lewis] are routinely used for the
recovery of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from genital specimens. Sputum and urine
specimens are routinely processed using a general purpose media [blood agar] and
a selective agar [EMB or MacConkey]. In addition chocolate agar is routinely
included to enhance recovery of fastidious organisms such as H influenzae. CSF is
routinely processed using blood and chocolate agars.)
Which of the following in the most appropriate organism and media combination?
Legionella species - Regan Lowe
Clostridium Difficile - phenylethyl alcohol
Campylobacter species - charcoal yeast extract
Yersinia enterocolitica - cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin - answer>>d (CIN agar is a
selective and differential medium for the isolation and differentiation of Y
enterocolitica, This medium contains sodium desoxycholate, crystal violet,
cefsulodin, irgason [triclosan], and novobiocin as selective agents, and mannitol as
the carbohydrate.)
Upon review of a sputum Gram stain, the technician notes that the nuclei of all of the
neutrophils present in the smear are staining dark blue. The best explanation for this finding
is:
the slide was inadequately decolorized with acetone/alcohol
the sputum smear was prepared to thin
the cellular components have stained as expected
the iodine was omitted from the staining procedure - answer>>a (Problems with
analysis of Gram staining generally result from errors including interpretation of the
slide [smear prepared too thick], excessive heat fixing, and improper decolorization.
Inadequate decolorization with acetone/alcohol results in a smear in which host
cells [neutrophils and squamous cells], as well as bacteria, all appear blue.)
When performing a Kovac indole test, the substrate must contain:
indole
tryptophan
ornithine
Certification EXAM LATEST VERSION 2026-2027
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which type of microscope would be most useful in examining viruses and the structure of
microbial cells?
electron
phase-contrast
dark-field
bright-field - answer>>a (Due to the small size of viruses, they are not visible using
light microscopy. Electron microscopy is used to visualize viruses and the internal
structure of microorganisms.)
After satisfactory performance of daily disk diffusion susceptibility quality control is
documented, the frequency of quality control can be reduced to:
twice a week
every week
every other week
every month - answer>>b (Daily disk diffusion quality control can be converted to
weekly testing when 30 days of consecutive testing demonstrates no more than 3
antibiotic/organism combinations outside of the acceptable limits.)
In disk diffusion susceptibility testing, as a antimicrobial agent diffuses away from the disk,
the concentration antibiotic is:
increased
decreased
unchanged
inoculum dependent - answer>>b (The amount of antibiotic used in disk diffusion
susceptibility testing is standardized and constant. Once the disk is placed on the
inoculated plate and makes contact with the agar, the antibiotic in the disk begins to
, diffuse out. As it diffuses into the media, the concentration of antibiotic gets lower
the further it diffuses from the disk.)
The most common cause for failure of a Gas Pak anaerobic jar to establish an adequate
environment for anaerobic incubation is:
the failure of the oxidation reduction potential indicator system due to
deterioration of methylene blue
the failure of the packet to generate adequate H2 and/or CO2
condensation of water on the inner surface of the jar
catalysts that have become inactivated after repeated use - answer>>d (The 2 most
common causes of failure of the Gas Pak system is a defective gasket in the jar lid
that allows escape of gas from inside the jar and inactivated catalyst pellets.)
Which of the following specimen requests is acceptable?
feces submitted for anaerobic culture
Foley catheter tip submitted for aerobic culture
rectal swab submitted for direct smear for gonococci
urine for culture of acid-fast bacilli - answer>>d (Urine is an appropriate specimen
for the detection of renal tuberculosis. Since feces contain anaerobic organisms as
part of the indigenous flora, it is an unacceptable specimen for anaerobic culture.
Foley catheter tips are also not acceptable for culture, because they are
contaminated with colonizing organisms. Gram stain smears of rectal swabs for N
gonorrhoeae should also not be performed, since the presence of organisms with
similar morphologies may lead to over interpretation of smears.)
Which of the following groups of specimens would be acceptable for anaerobic culture?
vaginal, eye
ear, leg tissue
pleural fluid, brain abscess
urine, sputum - answer>>c (Materials collected from sites not harboring indigenous
flora [sterile body fluids, abscess exudate and tissue] should be cultured for
anaerobic bacteria. However, since anaerobes normally inhabit the skin and mucus
, membranes as part of the indigenous flora, specimens such as urine, sputum, and
vaginal, eye and ear swabs are not acceptable for culture.)
A liquid fecal specimen from a 3 month old infant is submitted for microbiological exam. In
addition to culture on routine media for Salmonella and Shigella, this specimen should be
routinely:
examined for the presence of Entamoeba hartmanni
examined for the presence of Campylobacter sp.
screened for the detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
placed in thioglycollate broth to detect Clostridium botulinum - answer>>b
(Campylobacter continues to be the most common enteric pathogen isolated from
patients with diarrhea. Routinely fecal specimens should be cultured for Salmonella,
Shigella and Campylobacter. Fecal specimens are not routinely cultured for
enterotoxigenic E coli or C botulinum. E hartmanni is a nonpathogenic parasite and
does not cause diarrhea.)
Cerebrospinal fluid from a febrile 25 yr. old man with possible meningitis is rushed to the
lab for a stat gram stain and culture. While performing the gram stain, the tech accidently
spills most of the specimen. The smear shows many neutrophils and no microorganisms.
Since there is only enough CSH to inoculate one plate, the tech should use a:
blood agar plate
chopped meat glucose
chocolate agar plate
Thayer-Martin plate - answer>>c (Enriched media such as chocolate agar has no
inhibitory effects on bacterial growth and contains additional nutrients that support
the growth of fastidious organisms such as H influenzae and Neisseria.)
Which of the following is the most appropriate specimen source and primary media
battery?
endocervical - chocolate, Martin Lewis
sputum - sheep blood, Thayer-Martin, KV-laked blood
CSF - Columbia CNA, MacConkey
, urine - sheep blood, chocolate, Columbia CNA - answer>>a (Chocolate agar and
chocolate agar-based selective media [Martin Lewis] are routinely used for the
recovery of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from genital specimens. Sputum and urine
specimens are routinely processed using a general purpose media [blood agar] and
a selective agar [EMB or MacConkey]. In addition chocolate agar is routinely
included to enhance recovery of fastidious organisms such as H influenzae. CSF is
routinely processed using blood and chocolate agars.)
Which of the following in the most appropriate organism and media combination?
Legionella species - Regan Lowe
Clostridium Difficile - phenylethyl alcohol
Campylobacter species - charcoal yeast extract
Yersinia enterocolitica - cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin - answer>>d (CIN agar is a
selective and differential medium for the isolation and differentiation of Y
enterocolitica, This medium contains sodium desoxycholate, crystal violet,
cefsulodin, irgason [triclosan], and novobiocin as selective agents, and mannitol as
the carbohydrate.)
Upon review of a sputum Gram stain, the technician notes that the nuclei of all of the
neutrophils present in the smear are staining dark blue. The best explanation for this finding
is:
the slide was inadequately decolorized with acetone/alcohol
the sputum smear was prepared to thin
the cellular components have stained as expected
the iodine was omitted from the staining procedure - answer>>a (Problems with
analysis of Gram staining generally result from errors including interpretation of the
slide [smear prepared too thick], excessive heat fixing, and improper decolorization.
Inadequate decolorization with acetone/alcohol results in a smear in which host
cells [neutrophils and squamous cells], as well as bacteria, all appear blue.)
When performing a Kovac indole test, the substrate must contain:
indole
tryptophan
ornithine
