Bacteria and Virus Concept Questions
1. Why are bacteria classified in their own kingdom and not with plants, animals, protists, or fungi?
2. What features are shared by all prokaryotes?
3. What feature(s) might cause cyanobacteria to be classified as plants by some taxonomists?
4. Describe three shapes that bacteria can have.
5. Why is endospore formation important to bacteria?
6. Describe binary fission.
7. What is conjugation in bacteria? Why is it important?
8. How is conjugation different from transformation?
9. A protective slime coat around some species of bacterium known as a ____ makes them more capable of causing disease.
10. Why are bacteria considered more primitive than protists?
11. How do obligate aerobes differ from facultative aerobes?
12. _____ are organisms that die in the presence of oxygen.
13. Bacteria belong to a group of organisms known as prokaryotes. Discuss the differences between eukaryotes and prokaryotes in terms of cell wall, nuclear membrane, and chromosomes.
14. Why does dried or salted food resist spoiling by bacteria?
15. Give specific examples showing the importance of microbial sterility in
a) your kitchen
b) a microbiology lab
16. Describe the results if all bacteria died.
17. Why is there controversy as to whether a virus is living or non-living?
18. Could you accept the hypothesis that viruses were the precursors to life on this planet? Explain.
19. What are the main parts of a virus?
20. Suppose you were trying to develop a way to stop a virus from infecting a cell. How could this be done?
21. Describe how viruses can be spread.
22. The shape of a virus is determined by its _______.
23. Do viruses and bacteria cause disease in the same way? Explain.
24. Do you think viral infections are difficult to treat? Why or why not?
25. How is it that a virus is quite specific in the type of cell that it can infect?
26. Explain how each of the following is effective in protecting food against microorganisms: salting, freezing, sterilization, boiling, antibiotics.