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				This section includes 143 Mcqs, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your Microbiology knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.
| 1. | Nitrogen oxidation (nitrification)refers to the | 
| A. | conversion of ammonium ions into nitrates through the activities of certain bacteria. | 
| B. | changing of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to nitrogen compounds | 
| C. | sulfur is oxidized to the sulfate form through Thiobacillus bacteria | 
| D. | none of the above | 
| Answer» B. changing of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to nitrogen compounds | |
| 2. | In which of the following water bodies, fertility is high? | 
| A. | open sea | 
| B. | coastal regions | 
| C. | lakes | 
| D. | rivers | 
| Answer» C. lakes | |
| 3. | Aquatic bacteria tend to be Gram-negative. | 
| A. | True | 
| B. | False | 
| C. | May be | 
| D. | Can't say | 
| Answer» B. False | |
| 4. | Which of the following water bodies, the role of photosynthetic organisms is considerably reduced? | 
| A. | Lakes | 
| B. | Ponds | 
| C. | Estuaries | 
| D. | Streams | 
| Answer» D. Streams | |
| 5. | The Chesapeake Bay, one of the world’s major estuarine system serves as the receiving basin for how many rivers? | 
| A. | 4 | 
| B. | 6 | 
| C. | 3 | 
| D. | 9 | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 6. | Some microorganisms have the ability to increase the nitrogen content of soils, are called as | 
| A. | nitrogen fixation | 
| B. | denitrification | 
| C. | nitrification | 
| D. | all of these | 
| Answer» B. denitrification | |
| 7. | The energy value of biogas is typically | 
| A. | 400-700 BTU/ft3 | 
| B. | 1,000 BTU/ft3 | 
| C. | 1500 BTU/ft3 | 
| D. | more than 5000 BTU/ft3 | 
| Answer» B. 1,000 BTU/ft3 | |
| 8. | Nitrifying bacteria can not be isolated directly by the usual techniques employed to isolate hetrotrophic bacteria. The reasons may be due to | 
| A. | slow growth | 
| B. | medium growth | 
| C. | fast growth | 
| D. | none of these | 
| Answer» B. medium growth | |
| 9. | What amount of dry organic matter is produced by the deep ocean areas? | 
| A. | 1g | 
| B. | 10g | 
| C. | 0.5g | 
| D. | 100g | 
| Answer» D. 100g | |
| 10. | The diagnostic enzyme for denitrification is | 
| A. | nitrate reductase | 
| B. | nitrate oxidase | 
| C. | nitro oxidoreductase | 
| D. | none of these | 
| Answer» B. nitrate oxidase | |
| 11. | Which of the following organism have siliceous skeletons? | 
| A. | Foraminifera | 
| B. | Coccolithophores | 
| C. | Radiolaria | 
| D. | Cyanobacteria | 
| Answer» D. Cyanobacteria | |
| 12. | Which of the following product is not obtained from dissimilation of organic matter under aerobic conditions? | 
| A. | ammonium | 
| B. | sulphate | 
| C. | methane | 
| D. | phosphate | 
| Answer» D. phosphate | |
| 13. | Syntrophism involves | 
| A. | exchange of nutrients between two species | 
| B. | exchange of nutrients among species | 
| C. | no exchange of nutrients between two species | 
| D. | no exchange of nutrients among species | 
| Answer» B. exchange of nutrients among species | |
| 14. | Which of the following soil microorganism is involved in the reduction of sulfates to H2S? | 
| A. | Thiobacillus thiooxidans | 
| B. | Desulfotomaculum | 
| C. | Rhodospirillum | 
| D. | Rhodomicrobium | 
| Answer» C. Rhodospirillum | |
| 15. | Which of the following fungi on infecting crop roots can improve their uptake of phosphorus and other nutrients? | 
| A. | Saccharomyces cerevisiae | 
| B. | VA Mycorrhiza | 
| C. | Candida torulopsis | 
| D. | Aspergillus niger | 
| Answer» C. Candida torulopsis | |
| 16. | The phenomenon of commensalism refers to a relationship between organisms in which | 
| A. | one species of a pair benefits | 
| B. | both the species of a pair benefit | 
| C. | one species of a pair is more benefited | 
| D. | none of the above | 
| Answer» B. both the species of a pair benefit | |
| 17. | Hyphomycete fungi | 
| A. | produce nonmotile tetaradiate conidia | 
| B. | grow in leaves and the infected leaves are the preferred food source for some aquatic insects | 
| C. | both (a) and (b) | 
| D. | none of the above | 
| Answer» D. none of the above | |
| 18. | The chief spoilage organisms on smoked fish are | 
| A. | molds | 
| B. | bacteria | 
| C. | both (a) and (b) | 
| D. | fungi | 
| Answer» B. bacteria | |
| 19. | Bacteria, as a group, are responsible for | 
| A. | nitrogen oxidation | 
| B. | sulfur oxidation | 
| C. | nitrogen fixation | 
| D. | all of these | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 20. | Which among the following oceans is the most richest in life? | 
| A. | Antarctic Ocean | 
| B. | Atlantic Ocean | 
| C. | Pacific Ocean | 
| D. | Indian Ocean | 
| Answer» B. Atlantic Ocean | |
| 21. | The physical structure of soil is improved by the accumulation of | 
| A. | mold mycelium | 
| B. | minerals | 
| C. | water | 
| D. | all of these | 
| Answer» B. minerals | |
| 22. | Marinated (sour pickled) fish should not have spoilage problems unless | 
| A. | the acid content is very high | 
| B. | the acid content is low enough | 
| C. | the acid content is moderate | 
| D. | none of the above | 
| Answer» C. the acid content is moderate | |
| 23. | The organisms responsible for the characteristic musty or earth odor of a freshly plowed field is/are | 
| A. | Nocardia | 
| B. | Streptomyces | 
| C. | Micromonospora | 
| D. | all of these | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 24. | Loss of carbon through the microbial loop in oligotrophic environments is __________ to/than the loss of carbon through the microbial loop in copiotrophic environments. | 
| A. | greater | 
| B. | lesser | 
| C. | approximately equal | 
| D. | half | 
| Answer» B. lesser | |
| 25. | Chemical precipitation of phosphorus is | 
| A. | primary treatment | 
| B. | secondary treatment | 
| C. | tertiary treatment | 
| D. | both (a) and (b) | 
| Answer» D. both (a) and (b) | |
| 26. | Which of the following aquatic organisms contribute in a small amount to the shallow estuary food web? | 
| A. | benthic algae | 
| B. | bacteria | 
| C. | protozoa | 
| D. | nematodes | 
| Answer» B. bacteria | |
| 27. | The nonsymbiotic bacteria which fix nitrogen live in the soil independently are | 
| A. | Azotobacter | 
| B. | Clostridium | 
| C. | considerably less important in comparison to the symbiotic bacteria | 
| D. | all of the above | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 28. | Coliforms are used as indicator organisms because | 
| A. | they are present wherever enteric pathogens are present | 
| B. | a testing procedure with great specificity is easy to perform | 
| C. | both (a) and (b) | 
| D. | none of the above | 
| Answer» D. none of the above | |
| 29. | A heterocyst is | 
| A. | a type of spore | 
| B. | a terminally differentiated cell that fixes nitrogen | 
| C. | the progenitor of cyanobacterial vegetative cells | 
| D. | a cell that carries out oxygenic photosynthesis | 
| Answer» C. the progenitor of cyanobacterial vegetative cells | |
| 30. | The primary producers in the marine system are ________________ | 
| A. | protozoa | 
| B. | cyanobacteria | 
| C. | fungi | 
| D. | cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 31. | In chilled shrimp __________ is chiefly responsible for spoilage. | 
| A. | Achromobacter | 
| B. | Pseudomonas | 
| C. | Micrococcus or Bacillus species | 
| D. | Molds or yeasts | 
| Answer» B. Pseudomonas | |
| 32. | The sulfur pearl of Namibia, Thiomargarita namibiensis | 
| A. | is the worlds largest bacterium | 
| B. | stores high concentrations of nitrate in a huge internal vacuole which takes up 98% of the organisms volume | 
| C. | Both (a) and (b) | 
| D. | is the worlds smallest bacterium | 
| Answer» D. is the worlds smallest bacterium | |
| 33. | The coastal adjunct of the marine ecosystem is __________________ | 
| A. | stream | 
| B. | estuary | 
| C. | river | 
| D. | lake | 
| Answer» C. river | |
| 34. | Which of the following techniques can be used to separate different-size fractions of the aquatic microbial community? | 
| A. | submerged-slide technique | 
| B. | fluorescent antibody technique | 
| C. | membrane-filter technique | 
| D. | by measuring biochemical activity | 
| Answer» D. by measuring biochemical activity | |
| 35. | Because it can be used with a variety of media and allow a resuscitation step the __________ technique has become the common and often preferred method of evaluating the microbiological characteristics of water. | 
| A. | most probable number | 
| B. | Winogradsky | 
| C. | MUG | 
| D. | membrane filtration | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 36. | All of the following species are considered coliforms except | 
| A. | Enterobacter aerogenes | 
| B. | Klebsiella pneumoniae | 
| C. | Salmonella typhi | 
| D. | Escherichia coli | 
| Answer» D. Escherichia coli | |
| 37. | At higher temperatures, the souring of Oysters may be the result of the fermentation of sugars by | 
| A. | Coliform bacteria | 
| B. | Streptococci | 
| C. | Lactobacilli and yeast | 
| D. | all of these | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 38. | Removal of solids is generally considered as a | 
| A. | Primary treatment | 
| B. | Secondary treatment | 
| C. | Tertiary treatment | 
| D. | None of these | 
| Answer» B. Secondary treatment | |
| 39. | In which of the following seasons does the nutrient concentration falls at a drastically lower level? | 
| A. | Winter | 
| B. | Spring | 
| C. | Summer | 
| D. | Autumn | 
| Answer» D. Autumn | |
| 40. | The nitrogenase consists of | 
| A. | dinitrogenase | 
| B. | dinitrogenase reductase | 
| C. | both (a) and (b) | 
| D. | none of these | 
| Answer» D. none of these | |
| 41. | Which of the following techniques is used for identification and enumeration of algae, bacteria, protozoa? | 
| A. | Microscopic examination | 
| B. | Submerged-slide technique | 
| C. | Membrane-filter technique | 
| D. | Enrichment-culture technique | 
| Answer» B. Submerged-slide technique | |
| 42. | Most aquatic microorganisms can grow on the usual laboratory media. | 
| A. | True | 
| B. | False | 
| C. | May be | 
| D. | Can't say | 
| Answer» C. May be | |
| 43. | Large spiraling surface currents in the ocean that tend to aggregate and retain nutrients are known as _______________ | 
| A. | benthic region | 
| B. | upwelling | 
| C. | geothermal vents | 
| D. | gyres | 
| Answer» E. | |
| 44. | Phytoplanktonic organisms are non-motile. | 
| A. | True | 
| B. | False | 
| C. | May be | 
| D. | Can't say | 
| Answer» C. May be | |
| 45. | The degree of salinity in freshwater is nearly zero. | 
| A. | True | 
| B. | False | 
| C. | May be | 
| D. | Can't say | 
| Answer» B. False | |
| 46. | The microorganisms from lakes and rivers can grow at a salt concentration of _________ | 
| A. | 2.5 to 4 percent | 
| B. | 5 percent | 
| C. | below 1 percent | 
| D. | above 1 percent | 
| Answer» D. above 1 percent | |
| 47. | The rate of flux of oxygen in air is __________ to/than the rate of flux of oxygen in water. | 
| A. | greater | 
| B. | lesser | 
| C. | approximately equal | 
| D. | half | 
| Answer» B. lesser | |
| 48. | __________ is an environment like __________ where microorganisms are functioning in an extremely thin film of water and where oxygen-containing air is close to them. | 
| A. | low oxygen diffusion environment; soils | 
| B. | high oxygen diffusion environment; soils | 
| C. | low oxygen diffusion environment; lakes | 
| D. | high oxygen diffusion environment; lakes | 
| Answer» C. low oxygen diffusion environment; lakes | |
| 49. | Activated sludge undergoes | 
| A. | Primary treatment | 
| B. | Secondary treatment | 
| C. | Tertiary treatment | 
| D. | any of these | 
| Answer» C. Tertiary treatment | |
| 50. | Which of the following is a symbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria? | 
| A. | Rhizobium trifolii | 
| B. | Clostridium pasteurianum | 
| C. | Azotobacter sp. | 
| D. | Escherichia coli | 
| Answer» B. Clostridium pasteurianum | |