Microbiology worksheet with answers

What is sterilisation?

1. ACleaning visible dirt from surfaces
2. BKilling or removing all microorganisms including spores
3. CReducing the number of microorganisms to a level safe for patients
4. DKilling only bacteria but not viruses

Who discovered penicillin in 1928?

1. AJoseph Lister
2. BLouis Pasteur
3. CRobert Koch
4. DAlexander Fleming

How do bacteria usually reproduce?

1. AMitosis with a nuclear membrane
2. BBudding from a spore
3. CBinary fission
4. DMeiosis

What is the incubation period?

1. AThe time an antibiotic takes to work
2. BThe time a culture needs in the laboratory
3. CThe time between infection and the first symptoms
4. DThe time during which a patient remains infectious to others

Why are pregnant women advised to avoid unpasteurised soft cheeses?

1. AThey contain too much lactose for the fetus
2. BThey may contain tapeworm eggs
3. CThey often contain the hepatitis C virus, which crosses the placenta
4. DThey may contain Listeria, which can harm the fetus

In the chain of infection, what is the "reservoir"?

1. AThe route by which the pathogen leaves the infected host's body
2. BThe person who is most at risk of infection
3. CThe way the pathogen enters a new host
4. DThe place where the pathogen normally lives and multiplies

What did Pasteur's swan-neck flask experiment demonstrate?

1. AMicroorganisms need light to grow
2. BAir itself produces microorganisms
3. CMicroorganisms come from other microorganisms, not from spontaneous generation
4. DBoiling cannot kill microorganisms

A positive blood culture shows Gram-positive cocci in clusters. Which organism is most likely?

1. AStreptococcus
2. BEnterococcus in short chains
3. CStaphylococcus
4. DNeisseria