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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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

Which of these is caused by a virus?

  1. AInfluenza
  2. BMalaria
  3. CTetanus
  4. DTuberculosis
2.Easy

Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by:

  1. ATick bites
  2. BMosquito bites
  3. CCoughing and sneezing
  4. DContaminated water
3.Easy

How do bacteria usually reproduce?

  1. ABudding from a spore
  2. BBinary fission
  3. CMitosis with a nuclear membrane
  4. DMeiosis
4.Medium

Which white blood cells are the main phagocytes in an acute bacterial infection and the main component of pus?

  1. ANeutrophils
  2. BEosinophils
  3. CB lymphocytes
  4. DBasophils
5.Medium

How does an autoclave sterilise instruments?

  1. AWith alcohol vapour at room temperature
  2. BWith steam under pressure at about 121 °C
  3. CWith dry heat at about 60 °C
  4. DWith ultraviolet light only
6.Medium

How do people usually become infected with Legionella pneumophila?

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

Which process can produce a completely new influenza A subtype that causes a pandemic?

  1. AAntigenic shift through reassortment of gene segments
  2. BAntigenic drift through gradual accumulation of point mutations
  3. CLysogenic conversion by a bacteriophage
  4. DTransformation with free DNA
8.Hard

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

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

Answer key

  1. 1. A · Influenza
  2. 2. A · Tick bites
  3. 3. B · Binary fission
  4. 4. A · Neutrophils
  5. 5. B · With steam under pressure at about 121 °C
  6. 6. B · By inhaling aerosols from contaminated water systems
  7. 7. A · Antigenic shift through reassortment of gene segments
  8. 8. B · It is an obligate intracellular bacterium that cannot grow on ordinary media

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