Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is true of the microbial world?
A. All microbes are harmful.
B. Humans could survive without microbes.
C.
... [Show More] Many microbes are helpful.*
D. Most microbes are pathogenic.
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 23, 24
2. Which of the following is when humans first suspected the existence of microbes?
A. during the Industrial Revolution
B. in prehistoric times*
C. in the last century
D. within the last 500 years
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 23
3. Which individual first observed unicellular organisms, which he called “animalcules,” using
a microscope he developed?
A. Robert Koch
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Thucydides
D. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek*
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 6
4. To reduce the risk of open flame from Bunsen burners, microbiologists are increasingly using
which of the following devices for easy, rapid benchtop sterilization of small pieces of
equipment?
A. autoclaves
B. ethylene oxide
C. incubators
D. microincinerators*
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: 36
Page 1 of 17
OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
5. The Swedish botanist known for having developed an important biological classification
system is which of the following people?
A. Ernst Haeckel
B. Carolus Linnaeus*
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Robert Whittaker
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
6. Which kingdom was the only one found in Empire Prokaryota?
A. Animalia
B. Fungi
C. Monera*
D. Protista
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
7. Which are the three currently accepted domains?
A. Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya*
B. Archaea, Prokaryota, and Eukaryota
C. Bacteria, Fungi, and Protista
D. Bacteria, Prokaryota, and Eukarya
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
8. Which two taxonomic units are typically used to identify an organism when using binomial
nomenclature?
A. domain and kingdom
B. genus and family
C. genus and species*
D. phylum and class
Difficulty: Easy
ASM Standard: N/A
9. Which of the following is not true about the process of fermentation?
A. It can help preserve foods, preventing spoilage.
B. It converts sugars to organic acids, alcohols, and/or gases such as carbon dioxide.
C. It is carried out exclusively by unicellular eukaryotes such as yeast.*
D. It is used to make foods such as cheese and bread.
Difficulty: Moderate
ASM Standard: 11, 23, 26
Page 2 of 17
OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Invisible World
10. The Romans may have reduced their risk of waterborne infectious diseases by using which of
the following?
A. a variety of pharmaceutical products
B. aqueducts and a sewer system*
C. prophylactic antibiotics
D. quarantine of people with leprosy
Difficulty: Moderate..... [Show Less]