OPENSTAX MICROBIOLOGY TEST BANK
ACTUAL EXAM PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Hypothesis. Answer: Suggested explanation for an observable
phenomena -should be testable and falsifiable.
⩥ Theory. Answer: Te s t e d , w e l l-substantiated, unifying explanation
for a set of verified proven factors
⩥ Jan Baptista van Helmont. Answer: 17th century Flemish scientist
proposed that mice could arise from rags and wheat kernels left in an
open container for 3 weeks.
⩥ Francesco Redi. Answer: Refuted the idea that maggots spontaneously
arose from meat and predicted that if flies were prevented from landing
on the meat maggots would not appear. Performed an experiment using
six meat filled containers-2 were open air, 2 were covered with gauze,
and 2 were sealed tightly. Maggots only appeared in the open flasks
⩥ John Needham. Answer: Briefly boiled broth infused with plant or
animal matter intending to kill all preexisting microbes then sealed the
flasks, however, the flasks then became turbid (cloudy) indicating
microbial growth.
,⩥ Lazzaro Spallanzani. Answer: Repeated Needham's experiment,
however, he increased the heating time and no growth occurred until the
flasks were later exposed to the air.
Spallanzanisuggestedthatthemicrobeswerebeingintroduced from air.
Needham countered that a "lifeforce" was destroyed during Spallanzani's
extensive boiling.
⩥ Francisco Redi experiment. Answer: Francesco RediuFrancesco
Redi's experimental setup consisted of an open container, a container
sealed with a cork top, and a container covered in mesh that let in air but
not flies. Maggots only appeared on the meat in the open container.
However, maggots were also found on the gauze of the gauze-covered
container.
⩥ Louis Pasteur. Answer: French scientist Louis Pasteur, who
definitively refuted the long-disputed theory of spontaneous generation
>The unique swan-neck feature of the flasks used in Pasteur's
experiment allowed air to enter the flask but prevented the entry of
bacterial and fungal spores
>Pasteur's experiment consisted of two parts. In the first part, the broth
in the flask was boiled to sterilize it. When this broth was cooled, it
remained free of contamination. In the second part of the experiment, the
flask was boiled and then the neck was broken off. The broth in this
flask became contaminated
, ⩥ Modern Cell Theory. Answer: All cells come from pre-existing cells.
Cells are the fundamental units of organisms.
⩥ Robert Hooke. Answer: was the first to describe "cells" in 1665 based
upon his microscopic observations of cork.
⩥ Matthias Schleiden. Answer: a German botanist who made extensive
microscopic observations of living plant tissues, described them as being
composed of cells. Schleiden believed they formed via crystallization
not division.
⩥ Theodor Schwann. Answer: a noted German physiologist, made
similar microscopic observations of animal tissue. In 1839, after a
conversation with Schleiden, Schwann realized that similarities existed
between plant and animal tissues.
⩥ Rudolf Virchow. Answer: "Father of Pathology" popularized the cell
theory in an 1855 essay entitled "Cellular Pathology."
>The idea that all cells originate from other cells was first published in
1852 by his contemporary and former colleague Robert Remak
⩥ Robert Brown. Answer: Scottish botanist who in 1831 described the
nuclei of plant cells.
ACTUAL EXAM PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Hypothesis. Answer: Suggested explanation for an observable
phenomena -should be testable and falsifiable.
⩥ Theory. Answer: Te s t e d , w e l l-substantiated, unifying explanation
for a set of verified proven factors
⩥ Jan Baptista van Helmont. Answer: 17th century Flemish scientist
proposed that mice could arise from rags and wheat kernels left in an
open container for 3 weeks.
⩥ Francesco Redi. Answer: Refuted the idea that maggots spontaneously
arose from meat and predicted that if flies were prevented from landing
on the meat maggots would not appear. Performed an experiment using
six meat filled containers-2 were open air, 2 were covered with gauze,
and 2 were sealed tightly. Maggots only appeared in the open flasks
⩥ John Needham. Answer: Briefly boiled broth infused with plant or
animal matter intending to kill all preexisting microbes then sealed the
flasks, however, the flasks then became turbid (cloudy) indicating
microbial growth.
,⩥ Lazzaro Spallanzani. Answer: Repeated Needham's experiment,
however, he increased the heating time and no growth occurred until the
flasks were later exposed to the air.
Spallanzanisuggestedthatthemicrobeswerebeingintroduced from air.
Needham countered that a "lifeforce" was destroyed during Spallanzani's
extensive boiling.
⩥ Francisco Redi experiment. Answer: Francesco RediuFrancesco
Redi's experimental setup consisted of an open container, a container
sealed with a cork top, and a container covered in mesh that let in air but
not flies. Maggots only appeared on the meat in the open container.
However, maggots were also found on the gauze of the gauze-covered
container.
⩥ Louis Pasteur. Answer: French scientist Louis Pasteur, who
definitively refuted the long-disputed theory of spontaneous generation
>The unique swan-neck feature of the flasks used in Pasteur's
experiment allowed air to enter the flask but prevented the entry of
bacterial and fungal spores
>Pasteur's experiment consisted of two parts. In the first part, the broth
in the flask was boiled to sterilize it. When this broth was cooled, it
remained free of contamination. In the second part of the experiment, the
flask was boiled and then the neck was broken off. The broth in this
flask became contaminated
, ⩥ Modern Cell Theory. Answer: All cells come from pre-existing cells.
Cells are the fundamental units of organisms.
⩥ Robert Hooke. Answer: was the first to describe "cells" in 1665 based
upon his microscopic observations of cork.
⩥ Matthias Schleiden. Answer: a German botanist who made extensive
microscopic observations of living plant tissues, described them as being
composed of cells. Schleiden believed they formed via crystallization
not division.
⩥ Theodor Schwann. Answer: a noted German physiologist, made
similar microscopic observations of animal tissue. In 1839, after a
conversation with Schleiden, Schwann realized that similarities existed
between plant and animal tissues.
⩥ Rudolf Virchow. Answer: "Father of Pathology" popularized the cell
theory in an 1855 essay entitled "Cellular Pathology."
>The idea that all cells originate from other cells was first published in
1852 by his contemporary and former colleague Robert Remak
⩥ Robert Brown. Answer: Scottish botanist who in 1831 described the
nuclei of plant cells.
