Bio 225 Chapter 6 Practice Questions

1. Which of the following conditions do you think would present the greatest problem for
bacterial survival?
A. Low temperature
B. Neutral pH
C. Hypotonic solution
D. Hypertonic solution

2. Bacteria that have an optimum growth temperature of about 15°C are known as:
A. Hyperthermophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Halophiles
D. Psychrotrophs
E. Psychrophiles

3. Bacteria that have an optimum growth temperature of about 37°C are known as:
A. Thermophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Halophiles
D. Hyperthermophiles
E. Psychrophiles

4. Bacteria that have an optimum growth temperature of about 80°C are known as:
A. Thermophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Halophiles
D. Hyperthermophiles
E. Psychrophiles

5. Bacteria that have an optimum growth temperature of about 60°C are known as:
A. Thermophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Hyperthermophiles
D. Psychrotrophs
E. Psychrophiles

6. Bacteria that have an optimum growth temperature of between 20°C and 30°C are known as:
A. Thermophiles
B. Mesophiles
C. Halophiles
D. Psychrotrophs
E. Spoilophiles

7. Why can you store honey at room temperature?

A. Bacteria that have a growth optimum at that temperature don’t like honey
B. High osmotic pressure acts as a preservative
C. Low pH acts as a preservative
D. Pathogens are inhibited by beeswax
E. You can’t, that’s asking for trouble
8. An organism that can use oxygen for cellular respiration or can grow without oxygen by
switching to fermentation is:
A. An obligate anaerobe
B. A obligate aerobe
C. A microaerophile
D. A capnophile
E. A facultative anaerobe
F. An aerotolerant anaerobe

9. An organism that requires oxygen at levels below that found in the atmosphere is:
A. An obligate anaerobe
B. A obligate aerobe
C. A microaerophile
D. A capnophile
E. A facultative anaerobe
F. An aerotolerant anaerobe

10. An organism that must have oxygen to live is:

A. An obligate anaerobe
B. A obligate aerobe
C. A microaerophile
D. A capnophile
E. A facultative anaerobe
F. An aerotolerant anaerobe

11. An organism that can’t tolerate any level of oxygen is:

A. An obligate anaerobe
B. A obligate aerobe
C. A microaerophile
D. A capnophile
E. A facultative anaerobe
F. An aerotolerant anaerobe

12. An organism that doesn’t use oxygen but can tolerate it is:
A. An obligate anaerobe
B. A obligate aerobe
C. A microaerophile
D. A capnophile
E. A facultative anaerobe
F. An aerotolerant anaerobe

13. Why is it that organisms that use and/or tolerate oxygen must have superoxide dismutase?
A. To produce the final electron acceptor superoxide from water
B. To form metabolic water from oxygen and hydrogen ions
C. Oxygen free radicals are toxic
D. Dismutation requires oxygen
E. None of the above
14. Is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) toxic?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Maybe (not if you have superoxide dismutase)
D. It depends (not if you have catalase or peroxidase)

15. An organism can synthesize ATP and carbohydrates but can’t make proteins or nucleic
acids. Which of the following is missing from the culture medium?
A. O2
B. CO2
C. Phosphorus
D. Nitrogen
E. H+

16. Culture media provide bacteria with:

A. O2
B. CO2
C. Agar
D. H2O2
E. Nutrients

17. The two basic kinds of media used in the laboratory are:
A. Chemically defined and simple
B. Complex and simple
C. Differential and enrichment
D. Enrichment and selective
E. Solid and broth

18. A recipe for media that lists 0.3 g/l arginine, 1.8 g/l sodium acetate, and 0.3 g/l proline as
part of the recipe would probably be a recipe for what type of media?
A. Simple
B. Complex
C. Incomplete
D. Enrichment
E. Chemically defined

19. A medium in which the exact chemical composition varies slightly from batch to batch is:
A. Organic
B. Sloppy
C. Chemically inexact
D. Complex
E. Nonselective

20. Media that has a component to chemically remove molecular oxygen (O2) that might
interfere with the growth of anaerobes is:
A. Anaerobic media
B. Capnophilic media
C. Candle jar media
D. Oxidizing media
E. Reducing media
21. CO2 incubators or candle jars are used to grow:
A. Anaerobes
B. Capnophiles
C. Obligate aerobes
D. Viruses
E. Rickettsias

22. CO2 incubators and candle jars remove all O2 from the atomosphere.
A. True
B. False

23. Media that inhibits the growth of certain bacteria while allowing other types of bacteria to
grow is:
A. Selective
B. Differential
C. Specific
D. Complex
E. Enrichment

24. Media that would allow you to see whether or not a culture could hemolyze red blood cells
is:
A. Selective
B. Differential
C. Specific
D. Complex
E. Enrichment

25. Media that promotes the growth of bacteria that might be present in a sample in low
numbers is:
A. Selective
B. Differential
C. Specific
D. Complex
E. Enrichment

26. A streak plate is made to:

A. Look at symbiotic relationships between different species of bacteria
B. Grow large numbers of bacteria
C. Enrich a culture
D. Isolate mixed cultures
E. Isolate pure cultures

27. An individual colony:

A. Can be grown out to provide a pure culture
B. Is assumed to be derived from a single cell
C. Is assumed to consist of identical clones
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
28. Microbes can be preserved for long periods of time by:
A. Growing on streak plates
B. Growing on selective media
C. Growing in anaerobe chambers
D. Pasteurization
E. Lyophilization or deep freezing

29. The normal reproductive method of bacteria is:

A. Budding
B. Aerial spore formation
C. Fragmentation
D. Conjugation
E. Binary fission

30. If a culture starts with 1 x 106 cells how many cells will be present after 4 generations?
A. One billion
B. 1 x 1024
C. 1 x 1048
D. 16 x 106
E. 4 x 106
F. Can’t tell

31. The phase of bacterial growth best defined by equilibrium between cell division and cell
death is:
A. Lag phase
B. Log phase
C. Exponential phase
D. Death phase
E. Stationary phase

32. The phase of bacterial growth in which there is no increase in cell number and presumably
(if you buy my argument about bacteria being immortal) no cell death is:
A. Lag phase
B. Log phase
C. Exponential phase
D. Death phase
E. Stationary phase

33. The phase of bacterial growth in which cell number is increasing most rapidly is:
A. Lag phase
B. Log phase
C. Exponential phase
D. Death phase
E. Stationary phase
34. The phase of bacterial growth in which nutrients have been used up and waste products
accumulated to toxic levels is:
A. Lag phase
B. Log phase
C. Exponential phase
D. Death phase
E. Stationary phase

35. The phase of bacterial growth in which bacteria are more sensitive to chemical agents of
growth control is:
A. Lag phase
B. Log phase
C. Exponential phase
D. Death phase
E. Stationary phase

36. Direct measurements of bacterial growth include which of the following?

A. Spectrophotometry
B. Standard plate count
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Measurement of dry weight
E. Measurement of metabolic activity
F. Most Probable Number (MPN) method
G. A, B, and C
H. D, E, and F
I. A, D, E
J. A,D,E,F
K. B, C, Ff
L. B, C

37. Indirect measurements of bacterial growth include which of the following?

A. Spectrophotometry
B. Standard plate count
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Measurement of dry weight
E. Measurement of metabolic activity
F. Most Probable Number (MPN) method
G. A, B, and C
H. D, E, and F
I. A, D, E
J. A,D,E,F
K. B, C, Ff
L. B, C
38. A spread plate or pour plate is used as part of which of the following?
A. Most Probably Number (MPN)
B. Filtration
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Metabolic activity
E. Spectrophotometry
F. Standard plate count

39. Which of the following methods requires a standard curve?

A. Most Probably Number (MPN)
B. Filtration
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Spectrophotometry
E. Standard plate count

40. Which of the following methods requires a table to interpret the results?
A. Most Probably Number (MPN)
B. Filtration
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Metabolic activity
E. Spectrophotometry
F. Standard plate count

41. Measuring oxygen consumption would be part of which method of measuring bacterial
growth?
A. Most Probably Number (MPN)
B. Filtration
C. Direct microscopic count
D. Metabolic activity
E. Spectrophotometry
F. Standard plate count

42. A serial dilution series of a bacterial culture was performed and 1 ml of each dilution plated
in triplicate. The 1:1000 dilution plates gave an average colony count of 80 colonies/plate,
the 1:10,000 dilution plates gave an average colony count of 6 colonies/plate, and all other
plates were uncountable. What was the correct concentration of the undiluted culture?
A. 80,000 cfu/ml
B. 60,000 cfu/ml
C. 70,000 cfu/ml
D. 800,00 cfu/ml
E. 60,000 cells/ml
F. 70,000 cells/tube

43. If you compared two bacterial cultures using spectrophotometry the culture with a higher
concentration of cells would give which of the following results?
A. A higher percent transmission
B. A steeper standard curve
C. Lower turbidity
D. Greater absorbance
E. None of the above
Refer to the following for questions 44 - 48: Flask A contains yeast cells in glucose-minimal
salts broth incubated at 30°C in an anaerobic jar. Flask B contains yeast cells in glucose-
minimal salt broth incubated at 30°C with aeration. (Yeasts are facultative anaerobes)

44. Which culture produced more ATP?

A. Flask A
B. Flask B

45. Which culture produced more alcohol?

A. Flask A
B. Flask B

46. Which culture had the shorter generation time?

A. Flask A
B. Flask B

47. Which culture had the greater cell mass?

A. Flask A
B. Flask B

48. Which culture had the higher absorbance?

A. Flask A
B. Flask B
Bio 225 Chapter 6 Practice Exam Key

1 d 25 e
2 e 26 e
3 b 27 d
4 d 28 e
5 a 29 e
6 d 30 d
7 b 31 e
8 e 32 a
9 c 33 b
10 b 34 d
11 a 35 b
12 f 36 k
13 c 37 i
14 d 38 f
15 d 39 d
16 e 40 a
17 e 41 d
18 e 42 a
19 d 43 d
20 e 44 b
21 b 45 a
22 b 46 b
23 a 47 b
24 b 48 b