CU CHAMBERLAIN UNIVERSITY
1 KW
EST. 1889 College of Nursing & Health Professions
BIOS 242: Fundamentals of Microbiology
WEEK 1 EXAMINATION — HISTORY, MICROORGANISMS & CELL STRUCTURE
INSTITUTION PROGRAM
Chamberlain University Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE
BIOS 242 Fundamentals of Microbiology
ACADEMIC YEAR EXAM TITLE
2025–2026 Week 1 — History, Microorganisms & Cell Structure
TOTAL QUESTIONS EXAM FORMAT
65 Multiple Choice — Select the Single Best Answer
General Instructions
▸ Read each question carefully before selecting your answer.
▸ Select the single best answer for each multiple-choice item.
▸ This Week 1 examination covers the history of microbiology, pioneers and their experiments, classification of
microorganisms, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure, bacterial morphology and arrangements, and
archaea characteristics.
▸ All questions are weighted equally unless otherwise noted.
▸ Electronic devices, notes, and reference materials are prohibited during the examination.
Q MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 65 Questions
,1. Who is considered the father of microbiology and was the first to observe live microorganisms?
A. Robert Hooke
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
D. Robert Koch
CORRECT ANSWER:
C. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
RATIONALE:
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch tradesman, crafted simple but powerful single-lens microscopes and was the
first person to observe and describe living microorganisms ("animalcules"). He often made a new microscope
for each specimen. Robert Hooke (A) first described cells. Louis Pasteur (B) disproved spontaneous generation.
Robert Koch (D) linked microbes to specific diseases.
2. Leeuwenhoek classified microorganisms into which categories?
A. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals
B. Only bacteria and viruses
C. Only fungi and protozoa
D. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
CORRECT ANSWER:
A. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals
RATIONALE:
Leeuwenhoek's pioneering observations led him to categorize the microscopic world into six broad groups:
bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals. Options B, C, and D are incomplete
classifications. The Gram stain (D) was developed by Hans Christian Gram in 1884, long after Leeuwenhoek.
,3. Bacteria and archaea are both unicellular and lack nuclei. How do bacteria differ from archaea in cell wall
composition?
A. Bacteria have peptidoglycan; archaea do not have peptidoglycan
B. Archaea have peptidoglycan; bacteria do not
C. Both have identical cell walls
D. Neither has a cell wall
CORRECT ANSWER:
A. Bacteria have peptidoglycan; archaea do not have peptidoglycan
RATIONALE:
A fundamental difference between Bacteria and Archaea is cell wall chemistry. Bacterial cell walls contain
peptidoglycan (a polymer of NAG-NAM cross-linked by peptides). Archaeal cell walls lack peptidoglycan and
instead contain a variety of specialized polysaccharides and proteins. This is a key taxonomic distinction. Option
B reverses the relationship.
4. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms. The two categories of fungi are:
A. Bacteria and archaea
B. Molds and yeasts
C. Protozoa and algae
D. Cocci and bacilli
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Molds and yeasts
RATIONALE:
Fungi are divided into molds (multicellular, grow as long filaments called hyphae, reproduce by sexual and
asexual spores) and yeasts (unicellular, reproduce asexually by budding, some produce sexual spores). Both are
eukaryotic, obtain food from other organisms, and possess cell walls. Options A, C, and D describe other
taxonomic groups.
, 5. Protozoa A. Only flagella
CORRECT RATIONALE:
are single- B. Pseudopods, ANSWER: Protozoa are capable of locomotion
celled cilia, and
B. using three types of structures:
eukaryotes. flagella pseudopods (cell extensions that flow
Pseudopods,
Which C. Only cilia in the direction of travel, e.g.,
cilia, and
structures D. Fimbriae amoeba), cilia (numerous short
flagella
do they use and pili protrusions that propel the organism,
for e.g., Paramecium), and flagella
locomotion? (fewer, longer, whip-like extensions).
Options A and C are incomplete.
Fimbriae and pili (D) are bacterial
adhesion structures.
6. Who first proposed the theory of spontaneous generation?
A. Louis Pasteur
B. Robert Koch
C. Aristotle
D. John Needham
CORRECT ANSWER:
C. Aristotle
RATIONALE:
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) first proposed the concept of spontaneous generation — that living things can arise from
nonliving matter. This theory persisted for nearly 2,000 years. Pasteur (A) definitively disproved it. Needham (D)
conducted experiments that seemed to support spontaneous generation. Koch (B) developed the germ theory
postulates.
1 KW
EST. 1889 College of Nursing & Health Professions
BIOS 242: Fundamentals of Microbiology
WEEK 1 EXAMINATION — HISTORY, MICROORGANISMS & CELL STRUCTURE
INSTITUTION PROGRAM
Chamberlain University Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE
BIOS 242 Fundamentals of Microbiology
ACADEMIC YEAR EXAM TITLE
2025–2026 Week 1 — History, Microorganisms & Cell Structure
TOTAL QUESTIONS EXAM FORMAT
65 Multiple Choice — Select the Single Best Answer
General Instructions
▸ Read each question carefully before selecting your answer.
▸ Select the single best answer for each multiple-choice item.
▸ This Week 1 examination covers the history of microbiology, pioneers and their experiments, classification of
microorganisms, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure, bacterial morphology and arrangements, and
archaea characteristics.
▸ All questions are weighted equally unless otherwise noted.
▸ Electronic devices, notes, and reference materials are prohibited during the examination.
Q MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 65 Questions
,1. Who is considered the father of microbiology and was the first to observe live microorganisms?
A. Robert Hooke
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
D. Robert Koch
CORRECT ANSWER:
C. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
RATIONALE:
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch tradesman, crafted simple but powerful single-lens microscopes and was the
first person to observe and describe living microorganisms ("animalcules"). He often made a new microscope
for each specimen. Robert Hooke (A) first described cells. Louis Pasteur (B) disproved spontaneous generation.
Robert Koch (D) linked microbes to specific diseases.
2. Leeuwenhoek classified microorganisms into which categories?
A. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals
B. Only bacteria and viruses
C. Only fungi and protozoa
D. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
CORRECT ANSWER:
A. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals
RATIONALE:
Leeuwenhoek's pioneering observations led him to categorize the microscopic world into six broad groups:
bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, and small multicellular animals. Options B, C, and D are incomplete
classifications. The Gram stain (D) was developed by Hans Christian Gram in 1884, long after Leeuwenhoek.
,3. Bacteria and archaea are both unicellular and lack nuclei. How do bacteria differ from archaea in cell wall
composition?
A. Bacteria have peptidoglycan; archaea do not have peptidoglycan
B. Archaea have peptidoglycan; bacteria do not
C. Both have identical cell walls
D. Neither has a cell wall
CORRECT ANSWER:
A. Bacteria have peptidoglycan; archaea do not have peptidoglycan
RATIONALE:
A fundamental difference between Bacteria and Archaea is cell wall chemistry. Bacterial cell walls contain
peptidoglycan (a polymer of NAG-NAM cross-linked by peptides). Archaeal cell walls lack peptidoglycan and
instead contain a variety of specialized polysaccharides and proteins. This is a key taxonomic distinction. Option
B reverses the relationship.
4. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms. The two categories of fungi are:
A. Bacteria and archaea
B. Molds and yeasts
C. Protozoa and algae
D. Cocci and bacilli
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Molds and yeasts
RATIONALE:
Fungi are divided into molds (multicellular, grow as long filaments called hyphae, reproduce by sexual and
asexual spores) and yeasts (unicellular, reproduce asexually by budding, some produce sexual spores). Both are
eukaryotic, obtain food from other organisms, and possess cell walls. Options A, C, and D describe other
taxonomic groups.
, 5. Protozoa A. Only flagella
CORRECT RATIONALE:
are single- B. Pseudopods, ANSWER: Protozoa are capable of locomotion
celled cilia, and
B. using three types of structures:
eukaryotes. flagella pseudopods (cell extensions that flow
Pseudopods,
Which C. Only cilia in the direction of travel, e.g.,
cilia, and
structures D. Fimbriae amoeba), cilia (numerous short
flagella
do they use and pili protrusions that propel the organism,
for e.g., Paramecium), and flagella
locomotion? (fewer, longer, whip-like extensions).
Options A and C are incomplete.
Fimbriae and pili (D) are bacterial
adhesion structures.
6. Who first proposed the theory of spontaneous generation?
A. Louis Pasteur
B. Robert Koch
C. Aristotle
D. John Needham
CORRECT ANSWER:
C. Aristotle
RATIONALE:
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) first proposed the concept of spontaneous generation — that living things can arise from
nonliving matter. This theory persisted for nearly 2,000 years. Pasteur (A) definitively disproved it. Needham (D)
conducted experiments that seemed to support spontaneous generation. Koch (B) developed the germ theory
postulates.
