Microbiology BIO 420 Final Practice Exam Test Bank B
with 300 Correctly Answered Questions with Rationales/
BMCC Bio 420 Latest Final Practice Test 2026-2027
1. Who was the first person to view the smallest structures composing all living
things, which he termed as “cells”?
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Robert Hooke
C) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
D) Robert Koch
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Robert Hooke first described cells using a compound microscope.
2. Biogenesis states that:
A) Living forms can arise from nonliving matter
B) All living forms arose from preexisting living forms
C) Life originated spontaneously from organic molecules
D) Only plants can generate new life
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Biogenesis is the principle that living organisms arise only from other
living organisms.
3. Louis Pasteur in 1861 proved ______ by disproving ______ using a unique
swan-neck flask.
A) spontaneous generation; biogenesis
B) biogenesis; spontaneous generation
C) fermentation; pasteurization
D) germ theory; miasma theory
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pasteur’s experiments with swan-neck flasks demonstrated that life
does not spontaneously appear from nonliving matter.
4. Peptidoglycan is made up of which of the following?
A) Alternating series of glycan chains (NAM and NAG) and a tetrapeptide chain
B) Phospholipids and proteins
C) Lipopolysaccharides and teichoic acids
D) Cellulose and chitin
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Peptidoglycan consists of alternating N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and
N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) with cross-linking peptide chains.
5. The argument against spontaneous generation was finally introduced by Rudolf
Virchow, who introduced the concept of:
A) cell theory
B) fermentation
C) biogenesis
D) abiogenesis
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Virchow proposed “omnis cellula e cellula” (all cells come from cells),
supporting biogenesis.
6. French chemist Louis Pasteur is considered the:
A) father of modern microbiology
B) discoverer of penicillin
C) inventor of the microscope
D) founder of taxonomy
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Pasteur’s work on fermentation, pasteurization, and germ theory
revolutionized microbiology.
,7. The process of heating a substance to kill or slow the growth of pathogens
without destroying the product is called:
A) sterilization
B) pasteurization
C) fermentation
D) refrigeration
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pasteurization uses heat to reduce microbial load while preserving the
product.
8. The idea that infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms is known as the:
A) cell theory
B) germ theory of disease
C) biogenesis theory
D) endosymbiotic theory
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The germ theory of disease established that specific microbes cause
specific diseases.
9. Who advocated hand washing to prevent transmission of puerperal fever?
A) Joseph Lister
B) Ignaz Semmelweis
C) Robert Koch
D) Edward Jenner
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Semmelweis demonstrated that hand washing reduced maternal
mortality from puerperal fever.
10. Who inoculated a person with cowpox virus, who was then protected from
smallpox?
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Edward Jenner
, C) Robert Koch
D) Joseph Lister
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Jenner’s cowpox inoculation was the first vaccine, leading to the term
“vaccination”.
11. Vaccination is derived from “vacca,” which is Latin for:
A) virus
B) cow
C) smallpox
D) immunity
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: “Vacca” means cow, referring to the cowpox virus used by Jenner.
12. Applying Pasteur’s work, ______ used carbolic acid to prevent surgical wound
infections.
A) Joseph Lister
B) Robert Koch
C) Ignaz Semmelweis
D) Paul Ehrlich
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Lister introduced antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid (phenol).
13. ______ proved that a bacterium causes anthrax and provided the experimental
steps, known as Koch’s postulates.
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Robert Koch
C) Edward Jenner
D) Martinus Beijerinck
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Koch established the causal relationship between Bacillus anthracis and
anthrax.
with 300 Correctly Answered Questions with Rationales/
BMCC Bio 420 Latest Final Practice Test 2026-2027
1. Who was the first person to view the smallest structures composing all living
things, which he termed as “cells”?
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Robert Hooke
C) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
D) Robert Koch
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Robert Hooke first described cells using a compound microscope.
2. Biogenesis states that:
A) Living forms can arise from nonliving matter
B) All living forms arose from preexisting living forms
C) Life originated spontaneously from organic molecules
D) Only plants can generate new life
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Biogenesis is the principle that living organisms arise only from other
living organisms.
3. Louis Pasteur in 1861 proved ______ by disproving ______ using a unique
swan-neck flask.
A) spontaneous generation; biogenesis
B) biogenesis; spontaneous generation
C) fermentation; pasteurization
D) germ theory; miasma theory
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pasteur’s experiments with swan-neck flasks demonstrated that life
does not spontaneously appear from nonliving matter.
4. Peptidoglycan is made up of which of the following?
A) Alternating series of glycan chains (NAM and NAG) and a tetrapeptide chain
B) Phospholipids and proteins
C) Lipopolysaccharides and teichoic acids
D) Cellulose and chitin
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Peptidoglycan consists of alternating N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and
N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) with cross-linking peptide chains.
5. The argument against spontaneous generation was finally introduced by Rudolf
Virchow, who introduced the concept of:
A) cell theory
B) fermentation
C) biogenesis
D) abiogenesis
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Virchow proposed “omnis cellula e cellula” (all cells come from cells),
supporting biogenesis.
6. French chemist Louis Pasteur is considered the:
A) father of modern microbiology
B) discoverer of penicillin
C) inventor of the microscope
D) founder of taxonomy
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Pasteur’s work on fermentation, pasteurization, and germ theory
revolutionized microbiology.
,7. The process of heating a substance to kill or slow the growth of pathogens
without destroying the product is called:
A) sterilization
B) pasteurization
C) fermentation
D) refrigeration
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pasteurization uses heat to reduce microbial load while preserving the
product.
8. The idea that infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms is known as the:
A) cell theory
B) germ theory of disease
C) biogenesis theory
D) endosymbiotic theory
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The germ theory of disease established that specific microbes cause
specific diseases.
9. Who advocated hand washing to prevent transmission of puerperal fever?
A) Joseph Lister
B) Ignaz Semmelweis
C) Robert Koch
D) Edward Jenner
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Semmelweis demonstrated that hand washing reduced maternal
mortality from puerperal fever.
10. Who inoculated a person with cowpox virus, who was then protected from
smallpox?
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Edward Jenner
, C) Robert Koch
D) Joseph Lister
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Jenner’s cowpox inoculation was the first vaccine, leading to the term
“vaccination”.
11. Vaccination is derived from “vacca,” which is Latin for:
A) virus
B) cow
C) smallpox
D) immunity
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: “Vacca” means cow, referring to the cowpox virus used by Jenner.
12. Applying Pasteur’s work, ______ used carbolic acid to prevent surgical wound
infections.
A) Joseph Lister
B) Robert Koch
C) Ignaz Semmelweis
D) Paul Ehrlich
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Lister introduced antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid (phenol).
13. ______ proved that a bacterium causes anthrax and provided the experimental
steps, known as Koch’s postulates.
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Robert Koch
C) Edward Jenner
D) Martinus Beijerinck
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Koch established the causal relationship between Bacillus anthracis and
anthrax.
