TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 9:
In practical terms in everyday use, which of the following statements provides the definition of
sterilization?
a. Sterilization eliminates organisms and their spores or endospores.
b. Sterilization eliminates harmful microorganisms and viruses.
c. Sterilization eliminates prions.
d. Sterilization eliminates hyperthermophiles.

Which of the following substances or processes kills microorganisms on laboratory surfaces?

a. antiseptics
b. disinfectants
c. degermers
d. pasteurization

Which of the following terms best describes the disinfecting of cafeteria plates?
a. pasteurization
b. antisepsis
c. sterilization
d. sanitization

The microbial death rate is used to measure __________________.

a. the efficiency of a detergent
b. the efficiency of an antiseptic
c. the efficiency of sanitization techniques
d. all of the above

Which of the following statements is true concerning the selection of an antimicrobial agent?
a. An ideal antimicrobial agent is stable during storage.
b. An ideal antimicrobial agent is fast acting.
c. Ideal microbial agents do not exist.
d. all of the above

The endospores of which organism are used as a biological indicator of sterilization?

a. Bacillus stearothermophilus
b. Salmonella enterica
c. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
d. Staphylococcus aureus

Which of the following items functions most like an autoclave?

a. a boiling pan
b. an incinerator
c. a microwave oven
d. a pressure cooker

The preservation of beef jerky from microbial growth relies on which method of microbial control?
a. filtration
b. lyophilization
c. desiccation
d. radiation
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
Which of the following substances would most effectively inhibit anaerobes?
a. phenol
b. silver
c. ethanol
d. hydrogen peroxide

Which of the following adjectives best describes a surgical procedure that is free of microbial
contaminants?
a. disinfected
b. sanitized
c. degermed
d. aseptic

Which of the following substances is least toxic to humans?

a. carbolic acid
b. glutaraldehyde
c. hydrogen peroxide
d. formalin

Which of the following chemicals is active against bacterial endospores?

a. copper ions
b. ethylene oxide
c. ethanol
d. triclosan

Which of the following disinfectants acts against cell membranes?

a. phenol
b. peracetic acid
c. silver nitrate
d. glutaraldehyde

Describe three types of microbes that are extremely resistant to antimicrobial treatment, and explain why
they are resistant.
1. Bacterial endospores - most resistant form of life, can survive more than 20 yrs in 70% alcohol
2. Mycobacterium - contains a waxy cell wall (mycolic acid) helps survive the drying & protects from
chemicals
3. Cysts of Protozoa - protozoa cysts wall prevents entry of disinfectants, protects against drying & heat.

Why do warm disinfectant chemicals generally work better than cool ones? There is better penetration with
heat

Why are Gram-negative bacteria more susceptible to heat than Gram-positive bacteria? Gram (+) bacteria
has a thicker peptidoglycan layer than gram (-) & gram (-) has an outer membrane of LPS which contains lipid
A.

Describe five physical methods of microbial control.

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1. Moist Heat - use to disinfect, sanitize, sterilize & pasteurize, kills cells by denaturing protein &
destroying cytoplasmic membrane (disinfecting baby bottles) Dry heat - Used w/ powders, oils &
metals. Hot air is used to denature protein & foster oxidation of metabolic & structural chemical.
2. Refrigeration & Freezing - Used in food preparation & storage. Halts growth of most pathogens,
because chemical reactions occur slower at lower temperatures.
3. Ionizing radiation - denatures molecules DNA, which causes cell death & mutations
4. Osmotic pressure - high concentration of salt & sugar. Used to preserve food like salted fish.
5. Desiccation & Lyophilzations - technique combining freezing & drying

Defend the following statement: “Pasteurization is not sterilization.” Pasteurization uses heat so
thermophilic and thermoduric bacteria survive whereas sterilization kills all microbes.

Compare and contrast the action of alcohols, halogens, and oxidizing agents in controlling microbial
growth.
 Alcohol - denatures proteins & disrupts cell membrane (ETOH)
 Halogens - denatures proteins including enzymes (Cl & iodine)
 Oxidizing agents - denatures proteins by oxidation (hydrogen peroxide & peracetic acid)

Hyperthermophilic prokaryotes may remain viable in canned goods after commercial sterilization. Why
is this situation not dangerous to consumers? Because hyperthermophilic microbes grow at 85 degree C and
not at 37 degree C where we store our food.

Why are alcohols more effective in a 70% solution than in a 100% solution? 100% will dry bacteria, it will
not kill it.

Indian tradition holds that storing water in brass pitchers prevents disease. British and Indian scientists
have discovered that there is some truth in the tradition. The researchers collected river water samples
and found fecal bacterial counts as high as 1 million bacteria per milliliter. However, the scientists could
detect no bacteria in the water after it had been stored for two days in traditional brass pitchers.
Bacterial levels in plastic or earthenware containers remained high over the same period. How can brass,
which is an alloy of copper mixed with zinc, make water safer to drink?

How long would it take to reduce a population of 100 trillion (1014) bacteria to 10 viable cells if the D
value of the treatment is 3 minutes? 39 minutes. (3*13)

Some potentially pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including strains of Enterococcus, Staphylococcus,
Candida, and Aspergillus, can survive for one to three months on a variety of materials found in
hospitals, including scrub suits, lab coats, and plastic aprons and computer keyboards. What can hospital
personnel do to reduce the spread of these pathogens? Good hand hygiene

Explain why quaternary ammonium compounds are not very effective against mycobacteria such as
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They have cell walls that contain waxy lipids that help the bacteria survive
drying and protects them against water-based chemicals.

Would you expect Gram-negative bacteria or Gram-positive bacteria to be more susceptible to

antimicrobial chemicals that act against cell walls? Explain your answer, which you should base solely on
the nature of the cells’ walls (see Figure 3.15). Gram-positive bacteria are more susceptible to antimicrobial
chemicals that damage cell walls because the cell wall is exposed to the external environment. Although Gram-
negative bacteria have thin cell walls, their walls are protected from many chemicals in the environment by the
outer lipid membrane.
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS

Where should you place a sterilization indicator within an autoclave? Explain your reasoning. The
sterilization indicator should be placed in the last area to be reached by the steam being generated,
generally the most central location possible, or close to the door in an autoclave

CHAPTER 10:
In a Kirby-Bauer susceptibility test, the presence of a zone of inhibition around disks containing
antimicrobial agents indicates__________________.
a. that the microbe does not grow in the presence of the agents
b. that the microbe grows well in the presence of the agents
c. the smallest amount of the agent that will inhibit the growth of
the microbe
d. the minimum amount of an agent that kills the microbe in
question

The key to successful chemotherapy is __________________.

a. selective toxicity
b. a diffusion test
c. the minimum inhibitory concentration test
d. the spectrum of action

Which of the following statements is relevant in explaining why sulfonamides are effective?
a. Sulfonamides attach to sterol lipids in the pathogen, disrupt
the membranes, and lyse the cells.
b. Sulfonamides prevent the incorporation of amino acids into
polypeptide chains.
c. Humans and microbes use PABA differently in their
metabolism.
d. Sulfonamides inhibit DNA replication in both pathogens
and human cells

Cross resistance is __________________.

a. the deactivation of an antimicrobial agent by a bacterial
enzyme
b. alteration of the resistant cells so that an antimicrobial agent
cannot attach
c. the mutation of genes that affect the cytoplasmic membrane
channels so that antimicrobial agents cannot cross into the
cell’s interior
d. resistance to one antimicrobial agent because of its similarity to
another antimicrobial agent
Multiple-drug-resistant microbes __________________.
a. are resistant to all antimicrobial agents
b. respond to new antimicrobials by developing resistance
c. frequently develop in hospitals
d. all of the above

Which of the following is most closely associated with a beta-lactam ring?

a. penicillin
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
b. vancomycin
c. bacitracin
d. isoniazid

Drugs that act against protein synthesis include __________________.

a. beta-lactams
b. trimethoprim
c. polymyxin
d. aminoglycosides

PABA is __________________.
a. a substrate used in the production of penicillin
b. a type of β-lactamase
c. molecularly similar to cephalosporins
d. used to synthesize folic acid

What characteristics would an ideal chemotherapeutic agent have? Which drug has these qualities?
Readily available, inexpensive, chemically stable, easily administered, nontoxic and non-allergenic, selectively
toxic against a wide range of pathogens. No one drug has all of these qualities

Contrast narrow-spectrum and broad-spectrum drugs. Which are more effective? Narrow-spectrum drugs
work against only a few kinds of pathogens. Broad-spectrum drugs are effective against many different kinds of
pathogens.

Given that resistant strains of pathogens are a concern to the general health of a population, what can be
done to prevent their development?
1. maintaining a high concentration of the drug in a patient's body for long enough to kill cells and inhibit others
long enough for body's defenses to take over
2. use a synergistic drug combination
3. limit the use of antimicrobials to necessary cases
4. developing new variations of existing drugs, semisynthetic 2nd or 3rd generation drugs

Why are antiviral drugs difficult to develop? Viruses are inside human cells, drugs have to pentrate human
cells to get to virus, viruses uses human enzymes & protein for themselves, therefore are harmful to humans.

A man has been given a broad-spectrum antibiotic for his stomach ulcer. What unintended consequences
could arise from this therapy? It may allow secondary or superinfections to develop, by killing normal flora
reduces microbial antagonism

What is the difference in drug action of synergists contrasted with that of antagonists? Antagonist -
designed to bind to receptors and specifically block or weaken drug effects. The antagonist itself does not have
any biological effects.
Synergism - enhances effects on 2nd drug (penicillin makes stretomycin molecule easier to enter bacteria for
protein synthesis)

CHAPTER 7:
Which of the following is not a mechanism of natural genetic transfer and recombination?
a. transduction
b. transformation
c. transcription
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
d. conjugation

Which of the following statements is true?

a. Conjugation requires a sex pilus extending from the surface of a cell.
b. Conjugation involves a C factor.
c. Conjugation is an artificial genetic engineering technique.
d. Conjugation involves DNA that has been released into the environment.

Although two cells are totally unrelated, one cell receives DNA from the other cell and incorporates this
new DNA into its chromosome. This process is __________________.
a. crossing over of DNA from the two cells
b. vertical gene transfer
c. horizontal gene transfer
d. transposition

A gene for antibiotic resistance can move horizontally among bacterial cells by _transformation_,
__transduction_, and bacterial conjugation

CHAPTER 14:
In which type of symbiosis do both members benefit from their interaction?
a. mutualism
b. parasitism
c. commensalism
d. pathogenesis

An axenic environment is one that __________________.

a. exists in the human mouth
b. contains only one species
c. exists in the human colon
d. both a and c

The most frequent portal of entry for pathogens is __________________.

a. the respiratory tract
b. the skin
c. the conjunctiva
d. a cut or wound

The process by which microorganisms attach themselves to cells is _____.

a. infection
b. contamination
c. disease
d. adhesion

Which of the following is the correct sequence of events in infectious diseases?

a. incubation, prodromal period, illness, decline, convalescence
b. incubation, decline, prodromal period, illness, convalescence
c. prodromal period, incubation, illness, decline, convalescence
d. convalescence, prodromal period, incubation, illness, decline

Which of the following are most likely to cause disease?

a. opportunistic pathogens in a weakened host
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
b. pathogens lacking the enzyme kinase
c. pathogens lacking the enzyme collagenase
d. highly virulent organisms

The nature of bacterial capsules __________________.

a. causes widespread blood clotting
b. allows phagocytes to readily engulf these bacteria
c. affects the virulence of these bacteria
d. has no effect on the virulence of bacteria

When pathogenic bacterial cells lose the ability to make adhesins, they typically __________________.
a. become avirulent
b. produce endotoxin
c. absorb endotoxin
d. increase in virulence

A disease in which a pathogen remains inactive for a long period of time before becoming active is termed
a(n)__________________.
a. subacute disease
b. acute disease
c. chronic disease
d. latent disease

Which of the following statements is the best definition of a pandemic disease?

a. It normally occurs in a given geographic area.
b. It is a disease that occurs more frequently than usual for a geographical
area or group of people.
c. It occurs infrequently at no predictable time scattered over a
large area or population.
d. It is an epidemic that occurs on more than one continent at the
same time.

Consider the following case. An animal was infected with a virus. A mosquito bit the animal, was
contaminated with the virus, and proceeded to bite and infect a person. Which was the vector?
a. animal
b. virus
c. mosquito
d. person

A patient contracted athlete’s foot after long-term use of a medication. His physician explained that the
malady was directly related to the medication. Such infections are termed __________________.
a. healthcare associated infections
b. exogenous infections
c. iatrogenic infections
d. endogenous infections

Which of the following phrases describes a contagious disease?

a. a disease arising from fomites
b. a disease that is easily passed from host to host in aerosols
c. a disease that arises from opportunistic, normal microbiota
d. both a and b
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS

List three types of symbiotic relationships, and give an example of each.

Mutualism: Beneficial relationship. Ex. lichens on a tree
Commensalism: One organism benefits and other is not harmed Ex. clown fish and coral reef
Parasitism: One organism benefits at the expense of another. Ex. tapeworm and humans

List three conditions that create opportunities for pathogens to become harmful in a human. These
condition allow the microbiota to become "opportunistic pathogens".
1)Introduction of normal microbiota into an unusual site of the body.
2) Immune Suppression
3)Changes in normal Microbiota

List three portals through which pathogens enter the body. The pathogens can gain access through the skin,
mucous membranes, and placenta. The parenteral route isn't exactly a portal, but is a way of circumventing the
usual portals.

List Koch’s four postulates, and describe situations in which not all may be applicable.
1)The suspected agent must be present in every case of the disease.
2) The agent must be isolated and grown in pure culture.
3) The cultured agent must cause the disease when it is inoculated into a healthy, susceptible experimental host.
4) The same agent must be reisolated from the diseased experimental host.
Some LIMITATIONS
1) Some pathogens cannot be cultures in the lab.
2) Some diseases are caused by a combination of pathogens or by a combination of pathogens and physical,
environmental, or genetic factors.
3) Some ethical considerations prevent applying Koch's postulates.

List in the correct sequence the five stages of infectious diseases.

1)Incubation period
2) Prodromal period
3) Illness
4) Decline
5) Convalescence

Describe three modes of disease transmission.

1) Contact

2) Vehicle

3) Vector

Describe the parenteral route of infection. To enter the body by the parenteral route, pathogens must be
deposited directly into tissues beneath the skin or mucous membranes, such as occurs in punctures by a nail,
thorn, or hypodermic needle. Some experts include in the parenteral route breaks in the skin by cuts, bites, stab
wounds, deep abrasions, surgery.
TEST #2 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
In general, contrast transient microbiota with resident microbiota. Normal microbiota and transient
microbiota can also be opportunist microorganisms when they are in different environments than normal or the
host's immune system is suppressed. Opportunistic microorganisms do not have to have a permanent residence
in the host.

Contrast the terms infection and morbidity. Infection is the invasion of the host by a pathogen.

Disease results if the invading pathogen alters normal body functions.

Contrast iatrogenic and healthcare associated diseases. Caused by medical treatment or procedures; are a
subgroup of hospital-acquired diseases. Surgical error, yeast vaginitis resulting from antimicrobial therapy.
Healthcare associated disease is a disease obtained in the health care settling d/t pathogens being in the air.

A microbe that causes disease is called a Pathogen.

Infections that may go unnoticed because of the absence of symptoms are called asymptomatic infections.

The study of the cause of a disease is etiology.

The study of where and when diseases occur and how they are transmitted within populations is
epidemiology.

Diseases that are naturally spread from their usual animal hosts to humans are called zoonoses.

Nonliving reservoirs of disease, such as a toothbrush, drinking glass, and needle, are called fomites.

Nosocomial infections are those acquired by patients or staff while in health care facilities.

The total number of cases of a disease in a given area is its prevalence

An animal that carries a pathogen and also serves as host for the pathogen is a biological vector.

Endotoxin, also known as lipid A, is part of the outer (wall) membrane of Gram-negative bacteria.
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