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 Microorganisms: Friend and Foe

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which one of the following is caused by bacteria?

A. cold B. polio
C. chicken pox D. tuberculosis

Ans. A. cold

2. Which one of the following is an antibiotic?

A. streptomycin B. tetracycline
C. erythromycin D. all of these

Ans. D. all of these

3. Bread mould is an example of ___________.

A. bacteria B. fungi
C. virus D. algae

Ans. B. fungi

4. Disease causing microorganisms are called ___________.

A. antibodies B. vaccines
C. pathogens D. carriers

Ans. C. pathogens

5. __________ is a bacterial disease in human and cattle

A. anthrax B. foot and mouth
C. rust D. citrus canker
Ans. A. anthrax

6. The temperature at which milk is heated in order to preserve is __________.

A. 70o B. 110o
C. 45o D. 250o

Ans. A. 70o

7. Air contains _________ of nitrogen.

A. 65% B. 78%
C. 95% D. 80%

Ans. B. 78%

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Very Short Answer Questions

1. Name the five groups of microorganisms.

Ans. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae and virus.

2. Name any two serious diseases caused by virus.

Ans. Polio and chicken pox.

3. Name any two diseases caused by protozoa.

Ans. Dysentery and malaria.

4. Name any two domestic uses of microorganisms.

Ans. Setting of curd, fermentation of idlis.

5. Which bacteria promotes the formation of curd?

Ans. Lactobacillus.

6. Name the bacteria used in making bread, pastries and cakes.

Ans. Yeast.

7. Name the commercial use of yeast.

Ans. Production of alcohol and wine.

8. Name the scientist who discovered penicillin.

Ans. Alexander Fleming.

9. Name any two communicable diseases.

Ans. Cholera, common cold.

10. Name any two carriers of diseases.

Ans. Mosquitoes, housefly.

11. Name any two food preservatives.

Ans. Oil, sugar, vinegar.

12. Name the nitrogen fixation bacteria.

Ans. Rhizobium.

13. Who discovered pasteurisation?

Ans. Louis Pasteur.

14. Why milk is boiled before storage and consuming?

Ans. To prevent spoilage due to growth of microorganisms.

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Short Answer Questions

1. What are microorganisms?

Ans. Organisms that cannot be seen by naked eye are called microorganisms. They may be
unicellular or multicellular.

2. Define virus.
Ans. Viruses are microscopic infectious agent that acts as non-living outside host cell and
inside host cell becomes living and show reproduction. It can affect all kind of organism
including animals, plants and bacteria.

3. Why are viruses different from other microorganisms?

Ans. Viruses are also microscopic but are different from other microorganisms. They
reproduce inside the host cell which maybe a bacterium, plant or animal.

4. Where are microorganisms found?

Ans. Microorganisms are found in all types of environment, ranging from ice cold climate to
hot springs; and deserts to marshy lands. They are also found inside the bodies of animals
including humans. Some microorganisms grow on other organisms while others exist freely.

5. How do microorganisms help in agriculture?

Ans. Microorganisms increase the soil fertility by carrying out nitrogen fixation. This helps
in agriculture. Bacteria like Rhizobium and blue green algae are microorganisms which can
fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil thus increase soil fertility. These microbes are commonly
called biological nitrogen fixers.

6. What is fermentation?
Ans. The process of conversion of sugar into alcohol is known as fermentation.

7. Why is yeast used in the baking industry for making bread, cakes and pastries?
Ans. Yeast reproduces rapidly and produces carbon dioxide during respiration. Bubbles of
gas fill the dough (a mixture of atta or maida and some sugar and water) and increase its
volume. This is the basis of using yeast in the baking industry.

8. What are antibodies?

Ans. An antibody is a protein produced by the body's immune system in response to the
disease carrying microbe entering our body. Antibody fights against the disease-causing
microbe and protects our body against infectious diseases. Antibiotics are used to treat or
prevent bacterial infections, and sometimes protozoan infections.

9. What are communicable diseases?

Ans. Microbial diseases that can spread from an infected person to a healthy person through
air, water, food or physical contact are called communicable diseases. Examples of such
diseases include cholera, common cold, chicken pox and tuberculosis.

10. Name the modes of transmission of communicable disease.

Ans. Direct Transmission: By direct contact, by droplet infection, sharing infected needles,
syringes and razors, infected blood transfusion.

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 Indirect Transmission: Infected food, water or air, Through carriers like the housefly,
mosquitoes, rats etc, through dirty hands.

11. Write any four ways in which spread of communicable diseases can be prevented.
Ans. a. Cover food and do not consume uncovered food
b. Prevent breeding of mosquitoes by keeping the surroundings dry
c. Always cover your mouth while sneezing and coughing
d. Wash your hands before and after meals

12. Why are some microorganisms considered as harmful?

Ans. Some microorganisms cause diseases in human beings, plants and animals, like some
species of bacteria causes tuberculosis and typhoid, some species of virus causes common
cold and influenza. Some microorganisms also cause spoilage of food, clothing and leather
items. Thus, we consider some microorganisms are harmful.

13. How is food poisoning caused?

Ans. Food poisoning is caused due to the consumption of food spoilt by some
microorganisms. Microorganisms that grow on our food sometimes produce toxic substances.
These make the food poisonous causing serious illness and even death.

14. How do we preserve cooked food at home?

Ans. We preserve cooked food at home by using preservatives like salt, sugar and edible oil.
Common salt has been used to preserve meat and fish.it is also used to preserve amla, raw
mangoes, tamarind, etc. Jams, jellies and squashes are preserved by using sugar. Vegetables,
fruits, pickles are often preserved by oil and vinegar.

15. Explain preservation by sugar.

Ans. Jams, jellies and squashes are preserved by sugar. Sugar reduces the moisture content
which inhibits the growth of bacteria which spoil food.

16. What is pasteurisation?

Ans. Milk is heated to about 70o C for 15 to 30 seconds and then suddenly chilled and stored.
By doing so, it prevents the growth of microbes. This is called pasteurisation.

17. What are preservatives? State their importance?

Ans. Preservatives are naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that
are generally used to check the growth of microorganisms. E.g. salt and sugar acts as
preservatives in pickles to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Sodium benzoate
and sodium metabisulphite are common preservatives.

Long Answer Questions

1. What are antibiotics? What precautions must be taken while taking antibiotics?
Ans. The medicines which kill or stop the growth of microorganisms in our body are
called antibiotics. These are very useful to us as they prevent us from the effects of
microorganisms. Antibiotics are made from bacteria and fungi. These days a number

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 of antibiotics are used to cure various human and animal diseases such as
streptomycin, tetracycline, erythromycin etc.
Precautions to be taken while taking antibiotics:
a. We should take antibiotics only by the advice of a qualified doctor.
b. Antibiotics should only be taken when needed. Otherwise, they may be harmful and
become less effective in future.

2. What is nitrogen cycle? Draw a neat labelled diagram.

Ans. The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various
chemical forms. Our atmosphere has 78% nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is one of the essential
constituents of all living organisms as part of proteins, chlorophyll, nucleic acids and
vitamins. The atmospheric nitrogen cannot be taken directly by plants and animals. Certain
bacteria and blue green algae present in the soil fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert
it into compounds of nitrogen. Once nitrogen is converted into these usable compounds, it can
be utilised by plants from the soil through their root system. Nitrogen is then used for the
synthesis of plant proteins and other compounds. Animals feeding on plants get these proteins
and other nitrogen compounds. When plants and animals die, bacteria and fungi present in the
soil convert the nitrogenous wastes into nitrogenous compounds to be used by plants again.
Certain other bacteria convert some part of them to nitrogen gas which goes back into the
atmosphere. As a result, the percentage of nitrogen in the atmosphere remains more or less
constant.

3. Write any ten uses of microorganisms.

Ans. Uses of microorganisms:
a. Microorganisms help in the preparation of curd, bread, cake etc.
b. They are used to produce alcohol at large scale.
c. Yeast is used to prepare vinegar.
d. Microorganisms are used to make wine.
e. They act as cleaning agent and decompose the waste products into manure.
f. They destroy the plant and animal dead bodies by decomposing them.
g. They increase soil fertility by fixing nitrogen of atmosphere.
h. They are used in making medicines like antibiotics and vaccines.

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 i. They are used as preservatives for food items.
j. They help in various metabolic activities in our body.

4. Write short notes on increasing soil fertility by the action of microorganisms.

Ans. Some bacteria and blue green algae are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen into
nitrates and nitrates are an important constituent to increase soil fertility. These
microbes are generally called biological nitrogen fixers. Rhizobium is a nitrogen
fixing bacteria that live in the root nodules of leguminous plants, such as beans and
peas, with which it has a symbiotic relationship. Sometimes nitrogen gets fixed
through the action of lightning.

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