Microbiology worksheet with answers

What is the main purpose of bacterial endospores?

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

Which of these is caused by a virus?

1. ATetanus
2. BTuberculosis
3. CMalaria
4. DInfluenza

How does measles mainly spread?

1. AThrough the air in droplets and aerosols
2. BThrough contaminated food
3. CThrough sexual contact
4. DThrough insect bites

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

Why are Gram-negative bacteria often harder to treat with antibiotics?

1. ATheir outer membrane blocks many drugs
2. BThey have no ribosomes
3. CThey divide much more slowly
4. DThey have a thicker peptidoglycan layer

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

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

Why is Chlamydia trachomatis usually diagnosed with nucleic acid amplification tests instead of routine culture on agar?

1. AIt is a virus and has no DNA
2. BIt is too large to grow on agar plates
3. CIt is an obligate intracellular bacterium that cannot grow on ordinary media
4. DIt dies immediately in the presence of oxygen

A child develops bloody diarrhoea after eating an undercooked burger, then a week later has kidney failure, anaemia and a low platelet count. Which organism is most likely?

1. AClostridium perfringens
2. BRotavirus
3. CStaphylococcus aureus
4. DShiga toxin-producing E. coli such as O157:H7