NCERT Solutions for Class 12

Biology
Chapter 10 - Microbes in Human Welfare

Very Short Answer Questions 1 Marks

1. How does a small amount of curd added to fresh milk convert it into curd?
Mention a nutritional quality that gets added to the curd.
Ans: In a small amount of curd, a huge number of lactic acid bacteria can be
detected.
By creating lactic acid, proliferate and turn the milk into curd. Increased Vitamin
B12 enhances nutritional quality.

2. Why is secondary treatment of water in sewage treatment plant called

biological treatment?
Ans: Organic wastes from sewage water are digested by particular bacteria in this
treatment In the presence of water, microorganisms.

3. An antibiotic called Wonder Drug was used to treat the wounded soldiers of
America during World War-II. Name the drug and the scientist who discovered
it.
Ans: Alexander Fleming invented penicillin.

4. You have observed that fruit juice in bottles bought from the market are
clearer asncompared to those made at home. Give a reason.
Ans: Pectinase and proteases are used to clarify bottle juices.

5. Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin, but its full potential as an effective

antibiotics were established by other scientists. Name the two scientists.
Ans: Howard Florey and Ernest Chain.

6. Name the plant whose sap is used in making Toddy. Mention the process
involved in this.
Ans: The sap of a palm tree is used in making Toddy and the process is called
fermentation.

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7. What is the medical use of cyclosporin A.
Ans: During organ transplantation, cyclosporin A is used as an immunosuppressive
drug.

8. Name the pests that lady bird & dragonflies help to get rid off respectively?
Ans: Aphids are controlled by ladybird beetles, and mosquitoes are controlled by
dragonflies.

9. Give an example to prove that microbes release gases during metabolism?

Ans: Bread and Puffed dough are suitable examples of bacteria releasing gases
during metabolism.

10. What are interferons?

Ans: The Interferons are those proteins that are released by the cells in response to
the viral infection and it helps in the fight against viral infection.

11. Name the enzyme which is used as clot buster" to remove blood clot from
blood vessels of patients.
Ans: Streptokinase

14. Expand LAB?

Ans: Lactic acid Bacteria is the full form of LAB.

15. Name any two free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria.

Ans: Two free living nitrogen bacteria are Azotobacter, Azospirillum

16. Name the organism used in the dough for making bread.
Ans: Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

17. Name the fungus used as a biocontrol of plant diseases.

Ans: The fungus used as a biocontrol of plant diseases is known as Trichoderma.

18. Name any two gases produced during secondary treatment of Sewage?
Ans: Methane, Hydrogen sulphide & carbon dioxide.

Short Answer Questions 2 Marks

1. Name two alcoholic drinks produced in each of the following ways.

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(i) by distillation and (ii) without distillation.
Ans: (i) Distillation produces whisky, brandy, and rum.
(ii) Wine and beer that have not been distilled.

2. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) is commonly used in the conversion of milk into
curd.
Mention any two other functions of LAB that are useful to humans.
Ans: (i) Vitamin B12 is synthesised by LAB in the human gut.
(ii) The presence of LAB in the human stomach inhibits the growth of dangerous
microorganisms.

3. How do mycorrhizae function as biofertilizers? Explain with examples.

Ans: Fungi connected with plant roots are known as mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are
formed by many species of the Glomus genus. These fungal symbionts collect water
and minerals such as phosphorus from the soil and pass them on to the plant.

Short Answer Questions 3 Marks

1. Fill in the blanks spaces a, b, c, d, e, and given in the following table:

S.No Name of Organism Commercial product Use

1 Pencilliumnotatum Penicillium (a)

2 (b) Lactic acid Making curd
3 Streptococcus Clot buster enzyme (c)
4 Trichodermapolysporum (d) Immuno supresive
agent
5 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ethanol (e)
6 (f) Swiss cheese Food Product

Ans: (i) to kill disease causing bacteria

(b) Lactobacillus
(c) remove clots from blood vessels
(d) Cyclosporin A
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(e) Beverage/medicines
(f) Propionibacterium Shermanii.

2. What is biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) test? At what stage of Sewage

treatment this test is performed? The BOD level of three samples of water
labelled as A, B and C are 30 mg/L, 10mg/L and 500 mg/L respectively. Which
sample of water is most polluted?
Ans:
● The BOD test determines how quickly microorganisms in a sample of water
absorb oxygen.
● Secondary treatment or biological treatment.
● Sample C is the most polluted of the three water samples since it has the
greatest BOD level.

3. Given below is the Flow chart of Sewage treatment. Fill in the blank spaces
marked 'a' to f.

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Ans: (a) Primary treatment.
(b) Aeration
(c) Flocs
(d) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
(e) Activated sludge
(f) Water bodies like riverstream.

4. What are biofertilizers? A farmer is advised to add a culture of bacterium in

the soil before sowing the crop. Name the bacterium in the culture. How is this
bacterium useful to the crop?
Ans: Some points on biofertilizers are:
● Biofertilizers are organisms that improve the soil's nutrient quality.
● Azotobacter/Azospirillum is a bacteria found in the bacterium
Azotobacter/Azospirillum (free living)
● This bacterium converts atmospheric nitrogen into organic molecules that are
used as a fertiliser by plants.

5. What are statins? Name the microorganism that produces this substance.
How is it medically important?
Ans: The Monascuspurpureus produces statins, which are cholesterol-lowering
drugs (Yeast). They operate as blood cholesterol lowering drugs by competitively
blocking the enzymes involved for cholesterol production.

6. Describe the procedure involved in Sewage treatment?

Ans: The following technique is performed for the treatment of sewage waste:
i) PRIMARY TREATMENT: This entails physically separating suspended
materials in settling tanks in order to reduce BOD. The raw sewage is routed into
massive open tanks where it is subjected to anaerobic digestion to remove the solid
fraction.

ii) SECONDARY Therapy - Secondary treatment relies on microbial activity, either

aerobic or anaerobic. Secondary treatment techniques include:
a)Sand filters for filtration
b)Process of aeration
c)Application of oxidation ponds:
After drying, the sludge that collects after secondary treatment is disposed of, and
the efferent is allowed to be used for tertiary treatment.

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iii) TERTIARY TREATMENT: This treatment comprises chemical treatment to
eliminate inorganic chemicals as well as pathogenic microorganisms. Chlorination
is the most common disinfection procedure.

7. What is Biogas? How is it produced & Name the microbes invaded in Biogas
production.
Ans: Biogas is the gas produced by anaerobic fermentation of waste biomass. It is
made up of methane, CO2, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen sulphide,
among other things. Microbes that are often employed in the production of biogas-
i) hydrolytic bacteria, such as cellulomonas, clostridium, etc.
ii) Bacteria that produce hydrogen sulphide, such as Syntrophomonas wolfei
iii) Methanobacterium Omelianskii is an example of a methanogenic bacteria.
The biogas plant is fed by a concrete tank. The slurry is covered with a floating
cover, which continues to rise when gas is created in the tank owing to microbial
activity. The biogas plant includes an output that connects to a pipe that distributes
biogas to surrounding residences. Microbes transform the organic part of
biodegradable organic solid waste and trash into energy in the form of biogas and
humus during biogas production.
CO + H₂O → CO₂ + H₂
CO₂ +4H₂ → CH4 + 2H₂O
CH3OH → CH4 + 02

8. Microbes can be used to decrease the use of chemical fertilizers & pesticides.
Explain how this can be accomplished?
Ans: Chemicals are used to combat plant diseases and pests in modern society,
however these chemicals are poisonous and exceedingly damaging to humans and
the environment. In agriculture, for example, there is a form of pest control that
depends on natural predation rather than pesticides, such as To control butterflies,
caterpillars, and other insects, a bacteria known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is
provided as dried spores in sachets that are mixed with water and sprayed onto
sensitive plants such as brassicas, where the larvae are consumed. The toxin is
released in the intestines of larvae, killing them. The bacterial sickness kills the
caterpillar but does not harm other insects.

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9. How do Biofertilisers enrich the fertility of soil? How does cyanobacteria acts
as bio fertilizer?
Ans: Microorganisms employ biological channels to improve soil fertility for
optimal crop development, and they are referred to as "BIOFERTILIZERS." These
microorganisms can boost crop output in one of two ways.
i) By removing nitrogen from the atmosphere
ii) Insoluble fertiliser solubilization
iii) By promoting the growth of plants.
iv) Through phosphorus absorption.
v) By allowing plant remnants to decompose.
Anabaena, a cyanobacterium found in the leaf cavity of the water fern Azolla, fixes
nitrogen from the air and excretes nitrogenous compounds into the leaf cavity.

10. How does primary sludge differ from activated sludge? What type of
changes in the sludge are carried out in anaerobic sludge digester? Give the
composition of biogas produced in the sewage treatment plant.
Ans: Primary sludge is made up of all solids, such as soil and small stones, that settle
in the settling tank during sewage treatment. The sediment of bacterial flocs in the
settling tank following biological treatment is known as activated sludge. Slime and
fungal filaments bind bacteria together to form flocs. A portion of the activated
sludge is used as inoculum in the aeration tank, and the rest is sent to the anaerobic
sludge digester, which is a big tank. Other bacteria that grow anaerobically in this
tank consume the bacteria, fungus, and cellulose in the sludge.
Biogas is a mixture of methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide created in sewage
treatment plants.

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