Microbes and Society: Chapter 15 Practice Quiz

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Micro Quizzes

Chapter 15 Microbes and the Environment: No Microbes, No Life

Please read each question and select your answer from the choices provided. You must complete all of the questions in order to view your results. At the end of each exam, you have the option to e-mail your results to your instructor. (Kris.. do you want me to turn on this option?)

1: An ecosystem is:
	A: a community of all the organisms in a defined space
	B: the sum total of all living organisms on Earth
	C: the physical space or location where a species lives
	D: any environment where microbes live

2: The burning of coal or petroleum releases large amounts of _____________ into the atmosphere.
	A: nitrogen gas
	B: hydrogen sulfide
	C: carbon dioxide
	D: hydrogen gas

3: Compounds produced by the bacterium Desulfovibrio can:
	A: break down toxic chemicals, including herbicides and pesticides
	B: cause corrosion of iron and steel pipes buried in soil
	C: combine with mineral particles to form humus
	D: pollute streams and rivers with an unsightly yellow precipitate

4: Biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water refers to the:
	A: amount of oxygen used by microbes present in the water
	B: concentration of decomposed waste in water
	C: percentage of oxygen left in water after organic matter is removed
	D: number of living organisms that a body of water can support

5: A dense bacterial population caught in a tangled web of fibers sticking to a surface describes:
	A: coagulation
	B: a biodisc
	C: a biofilm
	D: the membrane filter technique

6: The use of microbes to break down synthetic waste products such as polychlorinated biphenyls is called:
	A: bioinformatics
	B: biolistics
	C: biotechnology
	D: bioremediation

7: The microbe detection method that utilizes cells from the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus detects:
	A: Gram positive bacteria
	B: Gram negative bacteria
	C: all bacteria
	D: all microbes

8: Treatment of municipal water supplies is based upon:
	A: coagulation, filtration, chlorination
	B: chlorination, filtration, coagulation
	C: filtration, coagulation, chlorination
	D: coagulation, chlorination, filtration

9: Water testing relies on the detection of certain indicator organisms known as:
	A: acid-fast bacteria
	B: bacteroids
	C: coliforms
	D: dinoflagellates

10: The death of a river initiated by environmental pollutants ultimately results from:
	A: the overpopulation of algae
	B: the overabundance of toxic proteins
	C: the depletion of oxygen
	D: the buildup of sediment on the river bottom

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