Environmental Microbiology Review Questions
Course Introduction
Environmental Microbiology explores the roles and interactions of microorganisms within natural and engineered environments. The course covers microbial diversity, ecology, physiology, and the significant functions that bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses perform in soil, water, air, and extreme habitats. Emphasis is placed on microbial processes such as nutrient cycling, biodegradation, bioremediation, and their implications for environmental health and sustainability. Students will also learn about molecular and culture-based techniques used to study environmental microbes, as well as contemporary issues like emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance in the environment, and the impact of human activities on microbial ecosystems.
Recommended Textbook
Living in a Microbial World 1st Edition by Bruce Hofkin
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16 Chapters
208 Verified Questions
208 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Living in a Microbial World
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13 Verified Questions
13 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Most microorganisms have eukaryotic cells.
B) Most microorganisms have cells containing organelles.
C) Many microorganisms have cells in which the genetic material is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane.
D) Animals have prokaryotic cells.
E) Plant cells do not contain organelles.
Answer: C
Q2) Those factors that are kept the same in the experimental group and the control group are called:
A) control variables.
B) experimental variables.
C) manipulated variables.
D) observed variables.
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following are not composed of cells?
A) Bacteria and archaea
B) Fungi and protozoa
C) Viruses and prions
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Chemistry of Life
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13 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a mismatched pair?
A) electrons: negative charge
B) neutrons: no charge
C) protons: positive charge
D) atomic mass number: protons plus electrons
E) uncharged atom: the number of electrons = the number of protons
Answer: D
Q2) The building blocks of ________ are ________ .
A) polysaccharides; fatty acids
B) DNA; nucleotides
C) nucleic acids; amino acids
D) polysaccharides; glycerol
E) fats; monosaccharides
Answer: B
Q3) Describe the relationship between an atom's stability and its energy. How does this impact an atom's reactivity?
Answer: There is an inverse relationship between an atom's stability and its energy level. They are more likely to interact with other atoms (they are more reactive) when their energy is greater and their stability is lower.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Cell: Where Life Begins
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13 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ bacteria lose their crystal violet when the decolorizer alcohol is added during the Gram stain procedure.
A) Gram-negative
B) Gram-positive
C) Acid-fast
D) Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive
Answer: A
Q2) Which of the following extracellular structures allows some bacteria to resist phagocytosis by phagocytic cells?
A) capsule
B) fimbriae
C) sex pili
D) flagella
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: A Field Guide to the Microorganisms
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is different about the synthesis stage in a plus- and a minus-strand RNA virus?
Q2) Which of the following is true about photosynthetic bacteria?
A) They are the most primitive of all bacteria.
B) Photosynthesis appears to have evolved several separate times.
C) Photosynthetic bacteria all appear to be closely related.
D) A comparison of rRNA genes in different lineages of photosynthetic bacteria would reveal that the genes are almost identical in all lineages.
E) All photosynthetic bacteria appear to have evolved relatively recently.
Q3) The classification of living things according to their evolutionary relationships is called:
A) taxonomy.
B) phylogenetics.
C) taxonomic hierarchy.
D) the five-kingdom system of classification.
E) the three-domain system of classification.
Q4) What are mycorrhizial relationships? Provide an example.
Q5) How are rRNA genes used to deduce evolutionary relationships?
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Page 6
Chapter 5: The Microbiology of History and the History of Microbiology
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13 Verified Questions
13 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Four flasks are prepared with a broth that supports microbial growth. Broth A is boiled and then sealed to prevent the entry of air. Broth B is boiled and left open to the air. Broth C is boiled and left open, but the flask is fitted with an S-shaped neck. Broth D is boiled, left open to the air, and fitted with an S-shaped neck, but after two days the neck is removed. If the broths are examined after four days, which ones will contain living microorganisms?
A) All broths will contain microorganisms.
B) None of the broths will contain microorganisms.
C) broths B & D
D) broths A & C
E) broths B, C & D
Q2) Which of the following is not a vector-borne disease?
A) bubonic plague
B) yellow fever
C) malaria
D) typhus
E) anthrax
Q3) What are Koch's Postulates? Explain how they are used to determine the cause of a particular disease.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Microbial Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ use(s) codons to specify which amino acid should be added to the growing polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.
A) DNA
B) mRNA
C) tRNA
D) rRNA
E) operons
Q2) Identify and describe three distinct ways in which genetic recombination occurs in bacteria.
Q3) In the lac-operon, under which of the following conditions will the repressor protein be bound to its binding site?
A) when the environment contains abundant lactose
B) when the environment is very low in lactose
C) when the inducer is bound to the repressor
D) when RNA polymerase is most able to bind to the promoter
E) when the structural genes of the operon are being transcribed at a maximum rate
Q4) How does "proofreading" by DNA polymerase occur during DNA replication?
Q5) Explain how RNA differs in structure from DNA.
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Chapter 7: Metabolism and Growth
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the final electron acceptor is not present, which of the following still occurs?
A) the pumping of protons across a membrane
B) the production of ATP by the ATP synthase complex
C) the final oxidation of biological molecules in the Krebs cycle
D) the release of electrons to components of the electron transport chain by NADH and FADH<sub>2</sub>
E) fermentation
Q2) Describe differences that would be seen in the growth curve of a facultative anaerobe that is grown in the presence of oxygen, and the same facultative anaerobe grown in the absence of oxygen.
Q3) A chemically defined medium is often required to grow ________ bacteria in the laboratory.
A) fastidious
B) non-fastidious
C) acidophilic
D) halophilic
E) microaerophilic
Q4) Describe how ATP is produced in electron transport.
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9
Chapter 8: Microbial Evolution: the Origin and Diversity of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the rationale for the "RNA world" hypothesis.
Q2) Which of the following points is not part of the theory of natural selection?
A) Under ideal conditions, all populations can grow exponentially if all individuals survive and reproduce.
B) As environmental resources become limited, some individuals within a population are more likely to reproduce than others.
C) Individuals within a population are not genetically identical.
D) Those with a genetic makeup that results in the best adaptation to a particular set of environmental conditions are those most likely to reproduce. They will then pass on genes for these adaptations to their offspring.
E) Specific environmental conditions can cause specific favorable mutations to occur, resulting in better adaptation to those environmental conditions.
Q3) Molecules composed of RNA that have enzymatic activity are known as:
A) ribosomes.
B) RNases.
C) catalases.
D) ribozymes.
E) nucleases.
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Chapter 9: An Ecologists Guide to Microbiology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following represents a producer in a food web?
A) a fungus that is parasitic on plants
B) a herbivore
C) a carnivore
D) bacteria that break down organic material and return inorganic nutrients to the environment
E) photosynthetic cyanobacteria
Q2) Which of the following statements about competition is true?
A) Compared to plants or animals, competition between microorganisms is a rare event.
B) The principle of competitive exclusion suggests that two organisms in competition will eventually reach a stable equilibrium, where both organisms can coexist and survive.
C) A commensial relationship is an example of competition.
D) If you take an environmental sample, and find numerous microbial species within that sample, it suggests that none of these species are in competition with each other.
E) Compared to animals and plants, the resolution of competition between microorganisms is rapid.
Q3) Describe why decomposers are so important in ecosystems.
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11
Chapter 10: The Nature of Disease: a Pathogens Perspective
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Sample Questions
Q1) The portal of exit for pathogens:
A) is always the same as the portal of entry.
B) is always different from the portal of entry.
C) may or may not be the same as the portal of entry.
D) is a critical requirement if the pathogen is to cause disease.
E) is lacking in almost all human diseases.
Q2) Why are symptoms in a host, such as diarrhea in the case of intestinal disease, or sneezing and coughing in the case of respiratory disease, beneficial from the perspective of some pathogens that cause these diseases?
Q3) Eradication of any pathogen is very unlikely unless that pathogen uses:
A) human reservoirs only.
B) animal reservoirs only.
C) environmental reservoirs only.
D) human or animal reservoirs.
E) animal or environmental reservoirs.
Q4) What is the difference between biological vector transmission and mechanical vector transmission?
Q5) How does our normal flora protect us from some infections by pathogens?
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Chapter 11: Host Defense
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following cell types can be considered to be part of the innate immune system?
A) red blood cells
B) neutrophils
C) helper T cells
D) cytotoxic T cells
E) B cells
Q2) Toll-like receptors:
A) permit certain innate immune system cells to recognize certain molecules that are unique to microorganisms.
B) are found on the surface of cytotoxic T cells, and are used to recognize infected cells.
C) present foreign antigens on the surface of macrophages and dendritic cells.
D) are found on the surface of helper T cells, where they recognize antigens presented by antigen presenting cells.
E) are used by macrophages and dendritic cells to signal helper T cells that an infection is under way.
Q3) How does HIV reduce immune function?
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13
Chapter 12: Control of Microbial Growth
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which of the following situations might a bacteriostatic drug be preferable to a bactericidal drug?
A) when a patient is infected with an unknown pathogen
B) when the patient is immunocompromised
C) when antibiotics are being used prophylactically
D) when an infection is in a well-oxygenated region of the body
E) when Gram-negative bacteria have infected an ordinarily sterile region of the body
Q2) In what situations would UV radiation be an appropriate method for microbial control?
Q3) In which of the following situations might a broad spectrum drug be preferable to a narrow spectrum drug?
A) when the patient is infected with an unknown pathogen
B) when the patient is immunocompromised
C) when Gram-negative bacteria have infected an ordinarily sterile region of the body
D) in a well-oxygenated region of the body
E) when the patient is in danger of going into shock from endotoxin poisoning
Q4) What are some of the problems associated with the development of antiviral drugs?
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Chapter 13: Epidemiology:
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which of the following types of viruses is antigenic shift most likely?
A) RNA viruses
B) DNA viruses
C) enveloped viruses
D) non-enveloped viruses
E) viruses with a segmented genome
Q2) Which of the following pathogens would most likely be used as a bioterrorism agent?
A) Pathogen A: an obligate anaerobe
B) Pathogen B: an obligate aerobe
C) Pathogen C: a Gram-positive bacterial species
D) Pathogen D: a RNA virus
E) Pathogen E: a spore-former
Q3) What is antigenic drift? Why are RNA viruses more prone to this phenomenon than DNA viruses are?
Q4) Describe the design of a case-control study and how it is used to identify the cause of an epidemic.
Q5) How can a vaccine program prevent epidemics?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Future Is Here: Microorganisms and Biotechnology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not added to the reaction mix in the polymerase chain reaction?
A) a DNA polymerase enzyme
B) appropriate primers
C) target DNA
D) a supply of DNA nucleotides
E) a gene probe
Q2) What is bioremediation?
A) the production of genetically modified foods
B) the use of recombinant microorganisms to produce pharmaceutical products
C) the production of transgenic animals
D) the sequencing and study of entire genomes
E) the use of microorganisms to degrade harmful chemicals or otherwise detoxify environmental pollutants
Q3) Southern blotting can be used to:
A) insert donor DNA into recipient DNA.
B) determine if a specific gene is present in a DNA molecule.
C) separate DNA fragments based on size.
D) make many copies of a particular gene.
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E) determine the exact nucleotide sequence in a DNA molecule.
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Chapter 15: Guess Whos Coming to Dinner: Microorganisms and Food
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Sample Questions
Q1) When baking bread, all of the following steps occur. In which answer are the steps presented in the correct order?
A) yeast is kneaded into dough » loaf is baked » yeast ferments » bread rises
B) loaf is baked » yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » bread rises
C) yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » loaf is baked » bread rises
D) loaf is baked » bread rises » yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments
E) yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » bread rises » loaf is baked
Q2) Of the following pairs of organisms, which two are most closely related to each other?
A) Brewers' yeast and Spirulina
B) Brewer's yeast and the Lactobacillus used in yogurt production.
C) Brewer's yeast and mushrooms
D) Penicillium camemberti and Lactobacillus
E) Penicillium camemberti and the Gram-positive bacteria used to make pickles.
Q3) Probiotics are:
A) any microbially fermented food.
B) food items that are produced by aerobic bacteria.
C) hormones that are produced by bacteria.
D) products that contain living microorganisms, thought to be beneficial.
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E) antibiotics added to animal feed to encourage more rapid growth.
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Chapter 16: Better Living With Microorganisms: Industrial and Applied Microbiology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which type of organism would be most promising if you were seeking an organism that can digest hydrocarbons, to help clean up oil spills?
A) a nonfastidious organism
B) a fastidious organism
C) an obligate anaerobe
D) an extreme thermophile
E) an acidophile
Q2) When bacteria are used in wastewater treatment plants to convert hydrogen sulfide into hydrogen sulfate, why are the bacteria grown on biofilms?
A) To protect them from damage to their cell walls caused by the waste water.
B) The bacteria that make this conversion can only grow in biofilms.
C) The biofilms increase the time during which the bacteria can metabolize the hydrogen sulfide.
D) The hydrogen sulfate adheres to the biofilm, reducing the amount of this chemical released in treated water.
E) Only bacteria growing in biofilms produce the enzyme necessary to make this conversion.
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