KS3 Biology

8C Microbes
and Disease
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Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?
Uses of microbes
How microbes cause disease
Fighting disease
Summary activities
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What are microbes?

Microbes are very small
living things and are
sometimes called
micro-organisms.
Microbes are so tiny that they
cannot be seen with the
naked eye. They can only be
seen using a microscope.

How many different microbes

can you name?

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Different types of microbes

There are three types of microbes:

microbes
bacteria

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viruses

fungi

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Bacteria fact file

Bacteria e.g. Salmonella and Streptococcus
size: 1/1000 mm
shape: Bacteria can be spherical,
rod-shaped or comma-shaped.
structure: Bacteria are singlecelled organisms, which do not
completely have a nucleus.
Some cause disease, but many
are useful.
reproduction: Bacteria reproduce
very quickly. Two can very quickly
become four, then eight and so on.

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Bacterium structure

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Viruses fact file

Viruses e.g. flu virus and HIV (the AIDS virus)
size: 1/1,000,000 mm
shape: Viruses have regular
and geometric shapes.
structure: A virus is a simple
organism which does not
display ALL the characteristics
of living things. They are made
up of a protein coating and
some genetic material.

reproduction: Viruses can only

grow and reproduce within other
living things.
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Virus structure

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Fungi fact file

Fungi e.g. Penicillium and yeast
size: Some fungi can actually
be seen with the naked eye,
others are slightly bigger than
bacterial cells.
shape: Fungi come in many
different shapes.
structure: Fungi have the
most complex structures of
all the microbes. They feed
off other living things.

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Fungi (yeast) structure

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Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?
Uses of microbes
How microbes cause disease
Fighting disease
Summary activities
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Using microbes bacteria and fungi

Microbes have many uses that are based on the fact
that microbes can be grown.
Bacteria grow in milk to make it go off.
This type of bacterial growth is used
to make milk into yoghurt.
Cheese is another product that is
made from milk.

Fungi can also be used to make food. The meat substitute

Quorn is a protein produced using fungi.

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Using microbes yeast

Yeast is a type of fungus and carries out respiration.
The respiration of this microbe can be used in different
ways in baking bread and in brewing.
The aerobic respiration of yeast is
used to make bread rise.
Yeast uses the sugar in bread dough
to carry out aerobic respiration:

glucose

oxygen

carbon
dioxide

water

energy

What gas produced by the aerobic respiration of yeast

causes bread to rise?
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Using microbes yeast

The anaerobic respiration of yeast is
used to make beer and wine.
In this case, the yeast respires without
oxygen and produces alcohol (ethanol).
This process is known as fermentation.
Yeast converts the sugar into alcohol
by anaerobic respiration:

glucose

carbon
dioxide

ethanol

energy

How do brewers make sure that yeast respire without oxygen?

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Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?
Uses of microbes
How microbes cause disease
Fighting disease
Summary activities
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Microbes can cause disease

The diseases caused by microbes and their severity depend
on the type of microbe.

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viruses

bacteria

fungi

influenza (flu)

food poisoning

fungal sinusitis

mumps

sore throats

chickenpox

smallpox

tuberculosis
(TB)
tetanus

athletes foot
Onychomycosis

polio

cholera

rabies

typhoid

German measles
viral
meningitis

whooping cough
bacterial
meningitis

(causes discoloured
toe nails)

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Which type of microbe?

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How do microbes enter the body?

Microbes can enter the body in many different places.

eyes
ears
mouth
nose

skin
cuts
genitals
How are the diseases caused by microbes spread?
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How are microbes spread?

The spreading of microbes and disease is known as
transmission.
1. Transmission by air
A cough or a sneeze can release
millions of microbes into the air
which can then infect somebody
else.

2. Transmission by water
Dirty water can transmit many
diseases, e.g. cholera, which
can be transmitted by drinking.

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How are microbes spread?

3. Transmission by animals
An animal can carry a microbe from
one place to another, e.g. a mosquito
which spreads the malaria parasite.
4. Transmission by contact

Many microbes can be exchanged from one

person to another by direct or indirect contact:
direct contact by hand;
indirect contact, e.g. by walking on a
wet floor already contaminated by
someone else who has athletes foot;
sexual contact.
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How are microbes spread?

4. Transmission by contact
There are other forms of indirect contact,
e.g. the transmission of microbes from
mother to unborn child.
Transmission through the placenta
If the mother develops the HIV/Aids infection,
it can be passed on to the unborn child
through the placenta.
Transmission via breastfeeding
If a child is being breastfed, he or she
can also pick up microbes from the
mother via the mothers milk.
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How is the spread of disease stopped?

The spread of disease can be prevented by making sure
that good hygiene is used in key places such as bathrooms
and kitchens.

Chemicals called antibiotics can be

used to treat bacterial infections.

People can be immunized against

some diseases by the injection of a
vaccine.

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Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?
Uses of microbes
How microbes cause disease
Fighting disease
Summary activities
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Fighting microbes
How does the body fight off microbes that cause disease?

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What do white blood cells do?

The human body has a number of natural defences against
microbes. Noses are hairy inside to trap microbes!
The body also produces
white blood cells to help
defend it from microbes.

Some white blood cells

can destroy microbes
by engulfing them.

white blood cell

antigen

antibody
Some white blood cells are able to produce chemicals
called antibodies. These pairing with matching antigens
on the surfaces of microbes and so help the white blood
cells to engulf microbes.
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White blood cell engulfs microbe animation

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White blood cell and antibodies animation

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Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?
Uses of microbes
How microbes cause disease
Fighting disease
Summary activities
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Glossary
antibiotics Chemicals prescribed as medicine to kill
bacteria inside the body.

antibodies Chemicals produced by white blood cells

to fight microbes that cause disease.
bacteria The type of microbes that are single-celled
organisms.

fungi The type of microbes that feed off other living

things.

immune Resistance to infection caused by a microbe.

microbe A very small living thing.
transmission The spread of a disease from person to
person.

viruses The type of microbes that can only grow and

reproduce within other living things.
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Anagrams

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Multiple-choice quiz

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