BIO 315 – MICROBIOLOGY: FINAL EXAM

Spring 2012

Please fill in your name and SOLAR ID number on your answer sheet
before starting.

Answers to the multiple choice questions must be filled in on the answer

sheet with a #2 pencil. There are 60 multiple choice questions. (1 pt. each)

Answer sheets will be collected when time is called at 7:45 pm (everyone

must stay until 5:45). If you finish before that time you may hand in your
answer sheet and leave the room. Please keep your copy of the exam
booklet. Answers and grades will be posted ASAP on Blackboard.

SELECT THE BEST ANSWER!! GOOD LUCK!

I truly enjoyed the semester - thanks for making it fun as well as

intellectually rewarding. Enjoy the summer!
1. Which of the following infective agents can cause septic shock?
A) Staphylococcus aureus
B) Bacillus anthracis
C) Human Papillomavirus
D) Escherichia coli @
E) Streptococcus pyogenes

2. Animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans are termed:

A) nosocomial
B) subclinical
C) drug-resistant
D) zoonoses @
E) latent

3. Antibiotics might be a reasonable treatment for which of the following conditions?

A) AIDS
B) Smallpox
C) Botulism
D) Anthrax @
E) Rabies

4. Which of the following refers to the total proportion of individuals infected in a population at
any one time?
A) morbidity rate
B) prevalence @
C) LD50
D) incidence
E) ID 50

5. The key factor responsible for the rise in drug-resistant pathogens is

A) antigenic shifting by viruses
B) inappropriate use of antimicrobial chemotherapy @
C) bad hygiene
D) vaccination
E) the fact that certain fungi make antibiotics

6. Which of the following is NOT a semisynthetic chemotherapeutic agent?

A) ampicillin
B) carbenicillin
C) amoxycillin
D) penicillin @
E) methicillin
7. Leaf-cutter ants in the Amazon control “pests” in their fungal gardens by carrying cultures
of antibiotic producing bacteria. These bacteria belong to the genus:
A) Bacillus
B) Aspergillus
C) Penicillium
D) Escherichia
E) Streptomyces @

8. Which of the following is NOT a drug that inhibits protein synthesis?

A) Streptomycin
B) Neomycin
C) Tetracycline
D) Vancomycin @
E) Erythromycin

9. Which of the following would be most toxic if injected into the body?
A) Penicillin
B) Bacitracin
C) Polymyxin B @
D) Ampicillin
E) Vancomycin

10. A __________ infection is acquired in a hospital.

A) subclinical
B) latent
C) tertiary
D) zoonotic
E) nosocomial @

11. Which of the following is an example of a non-communicable disease?

A) the common cold (rhinitis)
B) “Strep” throat
C) tetanus @
D) Pneumonic Plague
E) HIV/AIDS

12. Which of the following is NOT a condition of Koch’s postulates?

A) isolate the causative agent of a disease
B) incubate the organism in the lab
C) inoculate a test animal to observe development of the disease
D) test the effects of the pathogen on a human subject @
E) reisolate the pathogen from the diseased animal
13. Which of the following blood cells functions primarily in phagocytosis?
A) lymphocyte
B) eosinophil
C) basophil
D) neutrophil @
E) T cell

14. Which type of cell actually produces and secretes antibodies during an infection?
A) memory B cell
B) helper T cell
C) plasma B cell @
D) macrophage
E) monocyte

15. Vaccination results in

A) artificial active immunity @
B) natural passive immunity
C) natural active immunity
D) artificial passive immunity
E) natural parenteral immunity

16. By definition, which of the following uses sunlight as their energy source?
A) chemotroph
B) lithotroph
C) autotroph
D) phototroph @
E) hetertroph

17. An organism is capable of photosynthesis but uses organic matter as its electron donor and
carbon source. Which type of metabolism does this organism possess?
A) photoheterotrophic @
B) photolithotrophic
C) chemoautotrophic
D) chemoheterotrophic
E) photoautotrophic

18. What field is involved with the study of the occurrence, distribution, and control of
diseases in populations?

A) Microbial ecology
B) taxonomy
C) etiology
D) epidemiology @
E) diagnostic microbiology
19. Which of the following processes involves the complete destruction or removal of all
microbes?
A) decontamination
B) antibiosis
C) antisepsis
D) disinfection
E) sterilization @

20. Thirty-six colonies grew in nutrient agar from 1.0 ml of sample withdrawn from a solution
diluted to 10-5 in a standard plate count procedure. How many cells were in the original
sample
A) 360
B) 3,600
C) 360,000
D) 1,800,000
E) 3,600,000 @

21. An organism is completely dependent on atmospheric O2 for growth. This organism is

a(n)
A) obligate aerobe @
B) aerotolerant anaerobe
C) acidophile
D) facultative anaerobe
E) obliagate anaerobe

22. The term obligate anaerobe refers to an organism that

A) requires oxygen to live
B) is killed by oxygen @
C) cannot use oxygen, but can tolerate it
D) needs oxygen, but at lower than atmospheric levels
E) uses oxygen when it is available, but uses fermentation when it is not

23. Extremely sweet or salty foods frequently don't require refrigeration to prevent spoilage
because they have
A) insufficient nutrients
B) high concentration of solutes @
C) toxic alkaline chemicals
D) naturally occurring antibiotics
E) been irradiated

24. Which of the following has been linked to cervical cancer?

A) Epstein-Barr virus
B) Human T-cell lymphotropic virus
C) Human Immunodeficiency virus
D) Human papilloma virus @
E) Human Herpes simplex virus
25. The world is facing a potential epidemic of multiple-drug resistant strains of bacteria that are
currently thriving in Russian prisons in Siberia. Which disease do these bacteria cause?
A) AIDS
B) Tuberculosis @
C) Yellow Fever
D) Malaria
E) Ebola virus

26. All of the following are gram-positive rods or cocci EXCEPT:

A) Bacillus
B) Mycobacterium
C) Clostridium
D) Streptococcus
E) Yersinia @

27. Which pair of microorganisms would you expect to be most closely related from a
phylogenetic perspective?
A) yeasts and actinomycetes
B) Staphylococcus and Escherichia
C) Staphylococcus and Streptococcus @
D) Escherichia and Borrelia
E) dinoflagellates and fungi

28. The pathogens that cause all of the following diseases are classified in the same viral
family EXCEPT:
A) Shingles
B) Infectious Mononucleosis
C) Chickenpox
D) Smallpox @
E) Herpes simplex I (cold sores)

29. Anthrax can be transmitted to humans in all of the following ways except:
A) Direct contact with infected animal materials (e. g., hides).
B) Ingestion of endospores
C) Transmission via an arthropod vector @
D) Inhalation of endospores
E) Vehicle transmission

30. In general, which group constitutes the largest proportion of the normal microbiota of the
skin?
A) gram negative rods
B) endospore forming rods and cocci
C) gram positive cocci @
D) gram negative cocci
E) mycoplasmas
The  following  information  applies  to  questions  31-­33.  
 
An individual had several infected hair follicles on her skin. Unfortunately, the pathogens that
caused the initial infection were able to infiltrate the dermis, and make their way into the
individual's bloodstream causing septicemia and toxemia. To everyone's dismay, the woman
died rather abruptly soon after this time due to a fatal, quick drop in blood pressure. The
cause of death was listed as toxic shock syndrome.

31. The organism that was responsible for this infection was most likely:
A. Streptococcus pyogenes
B. Staphylococcus aureus @
C. Streptococcus pneumoniae
D. Propionobacter acne
E. Staphylococcus epidermis

32. The toxin produced by the pathogen in question was a(n):

A. Neurotoxin
B. exotoxin @
C. endotoxin
D. part of the cell wall of the pathogen
E. enterotoxin

33. Which of the following is true of the pathogen that caused the death of the woman?
A. It contains techoic acids in its cell wall. @
B. It contains Lipid A in its cell wall.
C. It contains an axial filament.
D. It would stain red in the acid-fast stain.
E. It may possess endoplasmic reticulum.

34. Which one of the following temperatures would most likely kill a thermophile?
A) -70 degrees C
B) 0 degrees C
C) 15 degrees C
D) 37 degrees C
E) 95 degrees C @

35. Disease caused by which of the following is NOT considered to be an exception to Koch’s
postulates?
A) Streptococcus pyogenes
B) Bacillus anthracis @
C) pneumonia
D) Staphylococcus aureus
E) HIV
The following information applies to questions 36-39.

On January 1, 2012, just after midnight at a rather crazy New Year's Eve party, a college
student accidentally punctured his skin with a corkscrew trying to open a bottle of
champagne. The wound was rather deep, and he bled fairly profusely, but being drunk he
decided to bandage it up and didn't go to the doctor. He was aware of the possibility of
tetanus, since he had taken BIO 315, but after all, he had had a DTP vaccine, and wasn't
very worried. In fact he didn't go to the doctor until he began to feel sick on January 15, when
he experienced trouble moving his jaws and swallowing. Unfortunately when he went to the
doctor, it was clear that the wound had been deprived of oxygen, and he was administered a
tetanus booster vaccine and tetanospasmin antitoxin. Much to everyone's shock, the young
man died on January 31.

36. The toxin that killed the young man is best described as an:
A) endotoxin
B) enterotoxin
C) cytotoxin
D) exotoxin @
E) psychrotoxin

37. The pathogen that caused the young man's ordeal:

A) was an obligate acellular parasite
B) was a gram negative spirochete with an axial filament
C) contained Lipid A in its cell wall, and porin proteins in an outer membrane
D) contained ribosomes @
E) was a gram positive aerobic coccus

38. The pathogen that caused the disease should be classified in the same taxonomic Family
(according to the Determinative Manual) as
A) The pathogen that causes pneumonic plague
B) The pathogen that causes giardiasis
C) The pathogen that causes anthrax @
D) Streptococcus
E) The pathogen that causes leprosy

39. Botulism differs from tetanus in that:

A) One is caused by a neurotoxin, the other is not.
B) The etiologic agents are from different taxonomic genera.
C) In botulism, no bacteria need ever enter the body, while in tetanus, an infection must
occur. @
D) One is caused by an exotoxin, the other by an endotoxin.
E) C. botulinum can form endospores while C. tetani cannot.
40. This microscopic procedure is employed to observe a specimen that is smaller than the
wavelength of visible light, and reveals a 3-dimensional surface view.
A) Compound light microscopy
B) Scanning Electron microscopy @
C) Transmission Electron microscopy
D) Fluorescence microscopy
E) Darkfield microscopy

41. The Kingdom Protista contains all of the following forms of life except:
A) protozoa.
B) mushrooms. @
C) paramecia.
D) algae.
E) amoebae.

42. If a chloroplast were isolated and subjected to the Gram-staining procedure, what color would it
be after the procedure was finished?
A) purple
B) green
C) pink @
D) colorless
E) bright orange

43. You wish to view the influenza virus, the pathogen which causes the "flu". Which of the followin
techniques would you use?
A) Compound light microscopy using the virus stain
B) Compound light microscopy at high power using immersion oil.
C) Brightfield microscopy using infrared light.
D) Darkfield microscopy
E) Electron microscopy @

44. An organism uses the sulfate ion (SO4) as the terminal electron acceptor in a fundamental
catabolic energy-releasing pathway. This organism is undergoing:
A) fermentation
B) aerobic respiration
C) anabolic dehydration synthesis
D) hydrolytic autophagy
E) anaerobic respiration @
45. A particular microorganism has the following characteristics: its cells contain mitochondria,
ribosomes, and endoplasmic reticulum; they have cell walls that contain chitin; they are
chemoheterotrophic; and the organism is multicellular. This organism belongs to the Kingdom:
A) Fungi @
B) Monera
C) Animalia
D) Protozoa
E) Protista

46. If the decolorizing agent was NOT used in the Gram-staining procedure, gram-positive
organisms will be stained __________ and gram-negative organisms will be stained
__________.
A) purple; purple @
B) purple; colorless
C) purple; pink
D) pink; pink
E) pink; colorless

47. Based on the generalized sizes of cells and structures discussed in class, how many
viral particles could hypothetically fit into an average-sized eukaryotic cell? (Assume that
both the bacteria and the eukaryotic cell are shaped like cubes!)
A) 10
B) 100
C) 1000
D) 10,000
E) 1 million @

48. The Endosymbiont Theory proposes that which cellular structures are evolutionarily
derived from bacteria?
A) ribosomes and mitochondria
B) chloroplasts and lysosomes
C) mitochondria and chloroplasts @
D) ribosomes and the nucleus
E) mitochondria and the nucleus

49. Which of the following is present in both gram-positive and gram-negative cell walls?
A) An outer membrane
B) Peptidoglycan @
C) Techoic acids
D) Lipopolysachharides
E) Porin proteins
50. A periplasmic space exists in __________ between the __________.
A) Fungi; inner and outer cell walls.
B) Protozoa; inner and outer nuclear membranes.
C) Gram-positive cells; inner and outer peptidoglycan layers.
D) Gram-negative cells; plasma membrane and the outer membrane. @
E) Acid-fast cells; inner and outer nuclear membranes.

51. The causative agent of malaria would be classified in which of the five kingdoms?
A) Monera
B) Protista @
C) Fungi
D) Plantae
E) Animalia

52. Which of the following families of viruses would NEVER be expected to cause cancer?
A) Picornaviridae @
B) Herpesviridae
C) Papovaviridae
D) Retroviridae
E) Hepadnaviridae

53. Prokaryotes that photosynthesize using bacteriorhodopsin:

A) are classified in the Division Archaebacteria by Bergey's Determinative Manual. @
B) are classified in the Division "Gracilicutes" by Bergey's Determinative Manual.
C) are classified in the Division "Firmicutes" by Bergey's Determinative Manual.
D) have no cell walls.
E) should be classified in the domain Bacteria in a phylogenetic approach.

54. Concerning the life cycle of (+) single stranded RNA viruses:
A) The (+) strand serves as a template to make more (-) strands which are then
subsequently packaged into mature virions as ss (-) RNA.
B) RNA dependent RNA polymerase immediately utilizes the genomic
(-) strands to transcribe (+) strands
C) Early transcription of the viral genome and subsequent translation produces viral
enzymes, whichnmigrate to the nucleus.
D) The (-) strands usually only exist to act as a template to make more (+) strands @
E) Both C & D are correct

55. Which of the following statements is true about bacteriophages?

A) A sample of bacteriophage added to normal, sterile bacterial culture medium will be able
to replicate itself.
B) A bacteriophage can infect animal cells.
C) A bacteriophage can infect other viruses under the right conditions.
D) A bacteriophage usually has an RNA genome.
E) A bacteriophage can be "cultured" (allowed to replicate) in vitro by allowing it to infect a
compatible bacterial culture. @
56. The life cycle of which type of virus most closely resembles bacteriophage lysogeny (even if the
resemblance is superficial)?
A) DNA virus
B) (+) strand RNA virus
C) (–) strand RNA virus
D) Retrovirus @
E) Virulent phages

57. Which of the following is a systemic, nonspecific defense against infection?

A) The presence of salts in sweat
B) Fever @
C) Secretion of saliva
D) Tears
E) Urine flow in males

58. Which of the following diseases may be caused by either a bacterial or a viral pathogen?
A) Chickenpox
B) Influenza (the "flu")
C) Bronchitis @
D) Malaria
E) Bubonic Plague

59. The transfer of DNA from a donor to a recipient cell by direct contact through a pilus is
called:
A) conjugation @
B) sex
C) transduction
D) transformation
E) crossing over

60. It is possible to completely eradicate a disease from the earth by vaccination protocols,
and the World Health Organization (WHO) has succeeded in at least one case. Which of the
following diseases would in theory be able to be eradicated by this method?
A) Measles @
B) Anthrax
C) Rabies
D) Malaria
E) Pneumonia