Microbiology worksheet with answers

What is the main function of bacterial flagella?

1. AProtection against drying out
2. BMovement
3. CAttachment to host cells
4. DStorage of nutrients

What is the purpose of pasteurising milk?

1. ATo remove fat from the milk
2. BTo add healthy bacteria to the milk
3. CTo kill pathogens by heating, without fully sterilising it
4. DTo kill all microorganisms, including bacterial spores, by heating

Which structure do bacteria have but human cells do not?

1. AA phospholipid cell membrane
2. BA peptidoglycan cell wall
3. CRibosomes
4. DDNA

Many antifungal drugs target ergosterol. Why does this work?

1. AErgosterol is only found in viruses
2. BErgosterol is the main structural component of bacterial cell walls
3. CErgosterol is in fungal cell membranes but not in human cells
4. DHuman cells use ergosterol to make energy

How does an mRNA vaccine produce immunity?

1. AThe mRNA contains weakened live virus
2. BBody cells use the mRNA to make a viral protein that the immune system learns to recognise
3. CThe mRNA kills the virus directly in the blood
4. DThe mRNA is inserted permanently into human DNA

Which organism is a common cause of infection in burns and in people with cystic fibrosis, and can produce a green pigment?

1. AClostridium tetani
2. BPseudomonas aeruginosa
3. CStreptococcus pyogenes
4. DHelicobacter pylori

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

1. ANeisseria
2. BEnterococcus in short chains
3. CStaphylococcus
4. DStreptococcus

Why are beta-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulanic acid combined with amoxicillin?

1. AThey kill bacteria by themselves through the cell membrane
2. BThey make amoxicillin active against viruses
3. CThey protect amoxicillin from bacterial enzymes that destroy it
4. DThey slow the excretion of amoxicillin by the kidneys, raising its level