MICROBIOLOGY FINAL EXAMINATION
(13TH ED., TORTORA/FUNKE/CASE
STYLE)
SECTION 1: THE HISTORY & SCOPE OF MICROBIOLOGY
(Questions 1–15)
1. The first person to observe and describe living microorganisms
(―animalcules‖) using a simple microscope was:
A) Robert Hooke
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Anton van Leeuwenhoek
D) Francesco Redi
E) Ignaz Semmelweis
Answer: C
Rationale: Leeuwenhoek crafted single-lens microscopes and was the
first to observe bacteria and protozoa. Hooke observed cells (non-
living). Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation.
2. Which experiment definitively disproved the theory of spontaneous
generation?
A) Redi’s meat and maggots experiment
B) Needham’s boiled broth experiment
,C) Spallanzani’s sealed flask experiment
D) Pasteur’s swan-neck flask experiment
E) Koch’s postulates
Answer: D
Rationale: Pasteur’s swan-neck flasks allowed air in but trapped
dust/microbes, keeping broth sterile indefinitely. This proved
biogenesis — life comes from existing life.
3. Koch’s postulates are used to:
A) Classify bacteria into genera
B) Determine the cause of an infectious disease
C) Sterilize surgical instruments
D) Produce antibiotics
E) Identify viruses
Answer: B
Rationale: Koch’s postulates provide a systematic framework to
prove that a specific microorganism causes a specific disease
(e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes TB).
4. The development of aseptic techniques in surgery is credited to:
A) Edward Jenner
B) Joseph Lister
C) Florence Nightingale
D) Paul Ehrlich
E) Alexander Fleming
Answer: B
Rationale: Lister introduced carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize
,surgical instruments and clean wounds, dramatically reducing
postoperative infections.
5. Who discovered penicillin?
A) Selman Waksman
B) Paul Ehrlich
C) Alexander Fleming
D) Gerhard Domagk
E) Robert Koch
Answer: C
Rationale: Fleming observed that Penicillium mold
inhibited Staphylococcus growth. Ehrlich discovered Salvarsan (syphilis
treatment); Waksman discovered streptomycin.
6. The term ―chemotherapy‖ was coined by:
A) Fleming
B) Pasteur
C) Koch
D) Ehrlich
E) Lister
Answer: D
Rationale: Paul Ehrlich developed the concept of selectively
targeting pathogens with chemical agents (―magic bullets‖) and coined
―chemotherapy.‖
7. Which of the following is NOT a beneficial role of microorganisms?
A) Nitrogen fixation in plant roots
B) Production of cheese and yogurt
C) Decomposition of dead organisms
, D) Synthesis of vitamin K in human intestine
E) Production of greenhouse gases exclusively
Answer: E
Rationale: While microbes produce some greenhouse gases
(methane), they are not exclusively harmful; they perform essential
ecological and nutritional functions. Production of greenhouse gases is
not a ―beneficial role‖ by itself.
8. Bioremediation uses microorganisms to:
A) Cause disease
B) Produce antibiotics
C) Clean up pollutants (oil, heavy metals)
D) Preserve food
E) Generate vaccines
Answer: C
Rationale: Bioremediation employs bacteria and fungi to degrade
environmental contaminants, e.g., Pseudomonas species breaking down
oil spills.
9. Normal microbiota are best defined as:
A) Pathogens always causing disease
B) Microbes that colonize the body without typically causing harm
C) Viruses that infect bacteria
D) Microbes found only in hospital settings
E) All microbes in the air
Answer: B
Rationale: The human microbiome consists of resident microbes that
(13TH ED., TORTORA/FUNKE/CASE
STYLE)
SECTION 1: THE HISTORY & SCOPE OF MICROBIOLOGY
(Questions 1–15)
1. The first person to observe and describe living microorganisms
(―animalcules‖) using a simple microscope was:
A) Robert Hooke
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Anton van Leeuwenhoek
D) Francesco Redi
E) Ignaz Semmelweis
Answer: C
Rationale: Leeuwenhoek crafted single-lens microscopes and was the
first to observe bacteria and protozoa. Hooke observed cells (non-
living). Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation.
2. Which experiment definitively disproved the theory of spontaneous
generation?
A) Redi’s meat and maggots experiment
B) Needham’s boiled broth experiment
,C) Spallanzani’s sealed flask experiment
D) Pasteur’s swan-neck flask experiment
E) Koch’s postulates
Answer: D
Rationale: Pasteur’s swan-neck flasks allowed air in but trapped
dust/microbes, keeping broth sterile indefinitely. This proved
biogenesis — life comes from existing life.
3. Koch’s postulates are used to:
A) Classify bacteria into genera
B) Determine the cause of an infectious disease
C) Sterilize surgical instruments
D) Produce antibiotics
E) Identify viruses
Answer: B
Rationale: Koch’s postulates provide a systematic framework to
prove that a specific microorganism causes a specific disease
(e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes TB).
4. The development of aseptic techniques in surgery is credited to:
A) Edward Jenner
B) Joseph Lister
C) Florence Nightingale
D) Paul Ehrlich
E) Alexander Fleming
Answer: B
Rationale: Lister introduced carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize
,surgical instruments and clean wounds, dramatically reducing
postoperative infections.
5. Who discovered penicillin?
A) Selman Waksman
B) Paul Ehrlich
C) Alexander Fleming
D) Gerhard Domagk
E) Robert Koch
Answer: C
Rationale: Fleming observed that Penicillium mold
inhibited Staphylococcus growth. Ehrlich discovered Salvarsan (syphilis
treatment); Waksman discovered streptomycin.
6. The term ―chemotherapy‖ was coined by:
A) Fleming
B) Pasteur
C) Koch
D) Ehrlich
E) Lister
Answer: D
Rationale: Paul Ehrlich developed the concept of selectively
targeting pathogens with chemical agents (―magic bullets‖) and coined
―chemotherapy.‖
7. Which of the following is NOT a beneficial role of microorganisms?
A) Nitrogen fixation in plant roots
B) Production of cheese and yogurt
C) Decomposition of dead organisms
, D) Synthesis of vitamin K in human intestine
E) Production of greenhouse gases exclusively
Answer: E
Rationale: While microbes produce some greenhouse gases
(methane), they are not exclusively harmful; they perform essential
ecological and nutritional functions. Production of greenhouse gases is
not a ―beneficial role‖ by itself.
8. Bioremediation uses microorganisms to:
A) Cause disease
B) Produce antibiotics
C) Clean up pollutants (oil, heavy metals)
D) Preserve food
E) Generate vaccines
Answer: C
Rationale: Bioremediation employs bacteria and fungi to degrade
environmental contaminants, e.g., Pseudomonas species breaking down
oil spills.
9. Normal microbiota are best defined as:
A) Pathogens always causing disease
B) Microbes that colonize the body without typically causing harm
C) Viruses that infect bacteria
D) Microbes found only in hospital settings
E) All microbes in the air
Answer: B
Rationale: The human microbiome consists of resident microbes that
