BROCK BIOLOGY OF
MICROORGANISMS
CHAPTER 1,2 AND 3
LATEST VERSION EXAM
2026
Differential selection and reproduction of phenotypes
occurs during a process called
A) cellular differentiation.
B) evolution.
C) growth.
D) transformation. - answer-B
In what/which domain(s) of life is/are microorganisms
represented?
A) Archaea
B) Bacteria
C) Eukarya
D) Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya - answer-D
Determine which outcome is LEAST likely for a
microorganism being motile.
A) avoidance of predation by bacteriovores
B) maintaining osmotic balance within a salt gradient
,C) movement towards growth substrates
D) transfer of plasmids to progeny - answer-D
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A) Microbial cells exist as single cells.
B) Microbial cells carry out their life processes of growth
independently.
C) Microbial cells include both bacteria and viruses.
D) Microbial cells exclude the cells of plants and animals. -
answer-C
Basic microbiology can be used to
A) probe the fundamental processes of life.
B) study characteristics of cells of multicellular organisms.
C) model our understanding of cellular processes in
multicellular organisms, including humans.
D) probe the fundamental processes of life, study
characteristics of cells of multicellular organisms, and
model our understanding of cellular processes in
multicellular organisms, including humans. - answer-D
Applied microbiology deals with important practical
problems in
A) medicine.
B) agriculture.
C) industry.
D) medicine, agriculture, and industry. - answer-D
The largest mass of living material on Earth comes from
A) microorganisms.
,B) plants.
C) animals.
D) plants and animals together. - answer-A
Protein catalysts involved in the acceleration of the rate of
chemical reactions are called
A) catalytic converters.
B) growth agents.
C) evolutionary molecules.
D) enzymes. - answer-D
Regarding early life on Earth,
A) microbial life existed for billions of years before plant
and animal life.
B) microbial life existed long before animals but has been
around for about the same amount of time as plants.
C) microbial life, plant life, and animal life all appeared at
about the same time.
D) it is impossible to determine which type of life first
appeared. - answer-A
Most prokaryotic cells reside
A) on Earth's surface.
B) in lakes, rivers, and oceans.
C) in and on nonprokaryotic organisms (including humans
and other animals).
D) in the oceanic and terrestrial subsurfaces. - answer-D
The person who described the "wee animalcules" was
A) Robert Hooke.
B) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
, C) Louis Pasteur.
D) Ferdinand Cohn. - answer-B
Fannie Hesse is credited with giving ________ the idea to
use agar as a solidifying agent.
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Ferdinand Cohn
C) Robert Koch
D) Sergei Winogradsky - answer-C
Which of the following is/are characteristic of ALL cellular
organisms?
A) communication
B) evolution
C) motility
D) communication, evolution, and motility - answer-B
Microbes playing a role in nitrogen fixation in plants live in
________, while those playing a role in the digestive tract
of certain herbivores live in ________.
A) rumens / nodules
B) nodules / rumens
C) nodules / fortrans
D) fortrans / rumens - answer-B
Which of the following is NOT an accomplishment of Louis
Pasteur?
A) determined that the alcohol-making process was
mediated by microbial fermentation and thus refuted the
theory of spontaneous generation
MICROORGANISMS
CHAPTER 1,2 AND 3
LATEST VERSION EXAM
2026
Differential selection and reproduction of phenotypes
occurs during a process called
A) cellular differentiation.
B) evolution.
C) growth.
D) transformation. - answer-B
In what/which domain(s) of life is/are microorganisms
represented?
A) Archaea
B) Bacteria
C) Eukarya
D) Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya - answer-D
Determine which outcome is LEAST likely for a
microorganism being motile.
A) avoidance of predation by bacteriovores
B) maintaining osmotic balance within a salt gradient
,C) movement towards growth substrates
D) transfer of plasmids to progeny - answer-D
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A) Microbial cells exist as single cells.
B) Microbial cells carry out their life processes of growth
independently.
C) Microbial cells include both bacteria and viruses.
D) Microbial cells exclude the cells of plants and animals. -
answer-C
Basic microbiology can be used to
A) probe the fundamental processes of life.
B) study characteristics of cells of multicellular organisms.
C) model our understanding of cellular processes in
multicellular organisms, including humans.
D) probe the fundamental processes of life, study
characteristics of cells of multicellular organisms, and
model our understanding of cellular processes in
multicellular organisms, including humans. - answer-D
Applied microbiology deals with important practical
problems in
A) medicine.
B) agriculture.
C) industry.
D) medicine, agriculture, and industry. - answer-D
The largest mass of living material on Earth comes from
A) microorganisms.
,B) plants.
C) animals.
D) plants and animals together. - answer-A
Protein catalysts involved in the acceleration of the rate of
chemical reactions are called
A) catalytic converters.
B) growth agents.
C) evolutionary molecules.
D) enzymes. - answer-D
Regarding early life on Earth,
A) microbial life existed for billions of years before plant
and animal life.
B) microbial life existed long before animals but has been
around for about the same amount of time as plants.
C) microbial life, plant life, and animal life all appeared at
about the same time.
D) it is impossible to determine which type of life first
appeared. - answer-A
Most prokaryotic cells reside
A) on Earth's surface.
B) in lakes, rivers, and oceans.
C) in and on nonprokaryotic organisms (including humans
and other animals).
D) in the oceanic and terrestrial subsurfaces. - answer-D
The person who described the "wee animalcules" was
A) Robert Hooke.
B) Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.
, C) Louis Pasteur.
D) Ferdinand Cohn. - answer-B
Fannie Hesse is credited with giving ________ the idea to
use agar as a solidifying agent.
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Ferdinand Cohn
C) Robert Koch
D) Sergei Winogradsky - answer-C
Which of the following is/are characteristic of ALL cellular
organisms?
A) communication
B) evolution
C) motility
D) communication, evolution, and motility - answer-B
Microbes playing a role in nitrogen fixation in plants live in
________, while those playing a role in the digestive tract
of certain herbivores live in ________.
A) rumens / nodules
B) nodules / rumens
C) nodules / fortrans
D) fortrans / rumens - answer-B
Which of the following is NOT an accomplishment of Louis
Pasteur?
A) determined that the alcohol-making process was
mediated by microbial fermentation and thus refuted the
theory of spontaneous generation
