Microbiology Test 1 - BIOL 3150 Test
Questions and Actual Answers 2025-
2026 Updated
robert hooke - Answer first to describe microorganisms and illustrated the fruiting structures
of molds in micrographic
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) - Answer First to see bacteria
Ferdinand Cohn - Answer Interested in heat resistant bacteria and discovered that Bacillus
subtilis formed spores. Contributed to aseptic culturing methods
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) - Answer -Discovered that living organisms discriminate between
optical isomers
-Discovered that alcoholic fermentation was a biologically mediated process (originally thought
to be purely chemical)
-Disproved theory of spontaneous generation
-Led to the development of methods for controlling the growth of microorganisms (aseptic
technique)
-Developed vaccines for anthrax, fowl cholera, and rabies
Theory of spontaneous generation - Answer In the flask example, states that if the "beak" of
the flask is facing upwards then the microorganisms that enter from the open end get trapped
in the bend of the beak and cannot surpass this
Robert Koch (1843-1910) - Answer found a link between microbes and infectious diseases.
Developed methods for obtaining pure cultures of microbes, microbial taxonomy and awarded
nobel prize
Koch's Postulates - Answer 1.isolate organism from infected individual (not from healthy
ones)
2. culture organism in lab
3. infect new healthy individuals and reproduce disease
4. re-isolate indentical causative organism
Martinus Beijerinck (1851-1931) - Answer Developed enrichment culture technique
Microbes isolated from natural samples in a highly selective fashion by manipulating nutrient
and incubation conditions
,Example: nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Sergei Winogradsky (1856-1953) - Answer chemolithotrophy: oxidation of inorganic
compounds linked to energy conservation
Demonstrated that specific bacteria are linked to specific biogeochemical transformations (S, N
cycle)
True/False: do all microbes form cells? - Answer false
What is bacteria - Answer prokaryote,
undifferentiated single cells,
30 major lineages,
mostly diverse species
What is Archea - Answer prokaryotes,
less morphological diversity than bacteria,
mostly undifferentiated,
five well described phyla,
historically associated with extreme environments,
lack known parasites of plants and animals.
Eukarya - Answer plants, fungi, animals,
first were unicellular,
have at least 6 kingdoms,
, vary in shape, size and physiology
Viruses - Answer obligate parasites that only replicate within host cells
do not carry out metabolism, instead they take over other metabolic systems to replicate
have small genomes
very diverse
classified based on structure,
genome and host specificity
principals of microscopy - Answer all microscopes employ lenses to magnify an image
magnification is ability to make object larger
resolution is ability to distinguish between two adjacent objects, to distinct and seperate
true/false: magnification is not the limiting factor in our ability to see microorganisms, instead,
resolution is the cause for this - Answer true
is resolution limited by the physical properties of light - Answer yes
4 types of light microscopy - Answer bright field, phase contrast, dark field, fluorescence
bright field microscope - Answer most widely used; specimen is darker than surrounding
field, contrast is a major player
how to calculate total magnification - Answer objective magnification x ocular
What is the max magnification of a light microscope? - Answer 2000x
Questions and Actual Answers 2025-
2026 Updated
robert hooke - Answer first to describe microorganisms and illustrated the fruiting structures
of molds in micrographic
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) - Answer First to see bacteria
Ferdinand Cohn - Answer Interested in heat resistant bacteria and discovered that Bacillus
subtilis formed spores. Contributed to aseptic culturing methods
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) - Answer -Discovered that living organisms discriminate between
optical isomers
-Discovered that alcoholic fermentation was a biologically mediated process (originally thought
to be purely chemical)
-Disproved theory of spontaneous generation
-Led to the development of methods for controlling the growth of microorganisms (aseptic
technique)
-Developed vaccines for anthrax, fowl cholera, and rabies
Theory of spontaneous generation - Answer In the flask example, states that if the "beak" of
the flask is facing upwards then the microorganisms that enter from the open end get trapped
in the bend of the beak and cannot surpass this
Robert Koch (1843-1910) - Answer found a link between microbes and infectious diseases.
Developed methods for obtaining pure cultures of microbes, microbial taxonomy and awarded
nobel prize
Koch's Postulates - Answer 1.isolate organism from infected individual (not from healthy
ones)
2. culture organism in lab
3. infect new healthy individuals and reproduce disease
4. re-isolate indentical causative organism
Martinus Beijerinck (1851-1931) - Answer Developed enrichment culture technique
Microbes isolated from natural samples in a highly selective fashion by manipulating nutrient
and incubation conditions
,Example: nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Sergei Winogradsky (1856-1953) - Answer chemolithotrophy: oxidation of inorganic
compounds linked to energy conservation
Demonstrated that specific bacteria are linked to specific biogeochemical transformations (S, N
cycle)
True/False: do all microbes form cells? - Answer false
What is bacteria - Answer prokaryote,
undifferentiated single cells,
30 major lineages,
mostly diverse species
What is Archea - Answer prokaryotes,
less morphological diversity than bacteria,
mostly undifferentiated,
five well described phyla,
historically associated with extreme environments,
lack known parasites of plants and animals.
Eukarya - Answer plants, fungi, animals,
first were unicellular,
have at least 6 kingdoms,
, vary in shape, size and physiology
Viruses - Answer obligate parasites that only replicate within host cells
do not carry out metabolism, instead they take over other metabolic systems to replicate
have small genomes
very diverse
classified based on structure,
genome and host specificity
principals of microscopy - Answer all microscopes employ lenses to magnify an image
magnification is ability to make object larger
resolution is ability to distinguish between two adjacent objects, to distinct and seperate
true/false: magnification is not the limiting factor in our ability to see microorganisms, instead,
resolution is the cause for this - Answer true
is resolution limited by the physical properties of light - Answer yes
4 types of light microscopy - Answer bright field, phase contrast, dark field, fluorescence
bright field microscope - Answer most widely used; specimen is darker than surrounding
field, contrast is a major player
how to calculate total magnification - Answer objective magnification x ocular
What is the max magnification of a light microscope? - Answer 2000x
