Microbiology worksheet with answers

Free printable Microbiology worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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1.Easy

What is the main purpose of bacterial endospores?

  1. ATo move towards nutrients
  2. BTo survive harsh conditions such as heat and drying
  3. CTo reproduce quickly when nutrients and water are plentiful
  4. DTo exchange DNA with other bacteria
2.Easy

What is a plasmid?

  1. AThe protein coat of a virus
  2. BA small circle of DNA separate from the bacterial chromosome
  3. CA layer of sugar around the bacterial cell that protects it from phagocytosis
  4. DA type of bacterial ribosome
3.Easy

What is an obligate anaerobe?

  1. AAn organism that needs oxygen to grow
  2. BAn organism that grows both with and without oxygen present
  3. CAn organism that lives only in the lungs
  4. DAn organism that cannot grow in the presence of oxygen
4.Medium

How do people usually become infected with Legionella pneumophila?

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

In the lysogenic cycle of a bacteriophage, what happens to the phage DNA?

  1. AIt leaves the cell through the pilus
  2. BIt is destroyed by the bacterium
  3. CIt is integrated into the bacterial chromosome as a prophage
  4. DIt is immediately used to make new phages that burst the cell
6.Medium

Which part of the immune system produces antibodies?

  1. ANeutrophils
  2. BPlasma cells derived from B lymphocytes
  3. CCytotoxic T cells activated in the lymph nodes
  4. DNatural killer cells
7.Hard

A teenager has fever, neck stiffness and a non-blanching purple rash. CSF shows Gram-negative diplococci. Which organism is most likely?

  1. AListeria monocytogenes
  2. BStreptococcus pneumoniae
  3. CEscherichia coli
  4. DNeisseria meningitidis
8.Hard

In 1854 John Snow traced a cholera outbreak in London to the Broad Street water pump. Why is this study important?

  1. AIt showed that cholera spreads through "bad air" (miasma)
  2. BIt led directly to the first cholera vaccine
  3. CIt proved that cholera is caused by a virus
  4. DIt showed that cholera spreads through contaminated water, founding modern epidemiology

Answer key

  1. 1. B · To survive harsh conditions such as heat and drying
  2. 2. B · A small circle of DNA separate from the bacterial chromosome
  3. 3. D · An organism that cannot grow in the presence of oxygen
  4. 4. A · By inhaling aerosols from contaminated water systems
  5. 5. C · It is integrated into the bacterial chromosome as a prophage
  6. 6. B · Plasma cells derived from B lymphocytes
  7. 7. D · Neisseria meningitidis
  8. 8. D · It showed that cholera spreads through contaminated water, founding modern epidemiology

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