Microbiology worksheet with answers

What is agar used for in a microbiology laboratory?

1. ATo kill bacteria on surfaces
2. BTo stain bacteria purple
3. CTo make culture media solid
4. DTo dissolve bacterial cell walls

Which bacterium is the most common cause of urinary tract infections?

1. AEscherichia coli
2. BStreptococcus pyogenes
3. CStaphylococcus aureus
4. DMycobacterium tuberculosis

In infection control, what is a vector?

1. AAn object such as a door handle that carries germs between patients on a ward
2. BA living organism that carries a pathogen from one host to another
3. CThe first person infected in an outbreak
4. DA drug used to prevent infection

How do people usually become infected with Legionella pneumophila?

1. ABy inhaling aerosols from contaminated water systems
2. BBy eating undercooked chicken or unpasteurised milk products
3. CBy person-to-person spread through kissing
4. DBy being bitten by an infected tick

Which antibody class is the first to rise in a new infection?

1. AIgE
2. BIgG
3. CIgA
4. DIgM

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

1. APseudomonas aeruginosa
2. BHelicobacter pylori
3. CClostridium tetani
4. DStreptococcus pyogenes

Why are penicillins ineffective against Mycoplasma pneumoniae?

1. AIt has no cell wall for penicillin to act on
2. BIt produces large amounts of beta-lactamase
3. CIt has a thick waxy mycolic acid layer that blocks entry
4. DIt lives only inside red blood cells

In the 1840s Ignaz Semmelweis lowered deaths from puerperal fever in a Vienna maternity clinic. What did he introduce?

1. AVaccination of all mothers before birth
2. BKeeping mothers in separate isolation rooms after delivery
3. CHandwashing with chlorinated lime before examining women
4. DTreating mothers with penicillin