Microorganisms: Friend and Foe

Question 1.
Name the groups in which microorganisms are broadly classified.
Answer:
Microorganisms are broadly classified in four groups:
 bacteria
 fungi
 protozoa
 algae
Question 2.
Name the type of microorganism that is smaller than bacteria.
Answer:
Virus
Question 3.
Write the name of a bacterium that helps in the formation of curd.
Answer:
Lactobacillus
Question 4.
Write a use of yeast.
Answer:
Yeast is used in the production of alcohol, wine, beer and other beverages.
Question 5.
What does yeast produce during respiration?
Answer:
Yeast produces carbon dioxide gas during respiration.
Question 6.
What are pathogens? Write another name of pathogens.
Answer:
Disease-causing microorganisms are known as pathogens. They are also called germs.
Question 7.
Define food preservation.
Answer:
Food preservation is the method of preserving food from being spoiled by the microbes.
Question 8.
Write the names of any two antibiotics.
Answer:
 Streptomycin
 Erythromycin
Question 9.
Who discovered the vaccine for small pox?
Answer:
Edward Jenner
Question 10.
What is fermentation?
Answer:
Fermentation is the process of conversion of food into alcohol.
Question 11.
Define refrigeration.
Answer:
The storing of food products at the temperature of 0°C to 5°C is known as refrigeration.
Question 12.
What is vaccine?
Answer:
A substance which is used in the production of immunity against various diseases in the
living body is termed as vaccine.
Question 13.
Name any two human diseases caused by viruses.
Answer:
 Measles
 Polio
Question 14.
Name any three common plant diseases.
Answer:
Rust of wheat, citrus canker and wilt
Question 15.
Name a microorganism which helps in nitrogen fixation.
Answer:
Rhizobium
Question 16.
Name a disease caused by food poisoning.
Answer:
Botulism
Question 17.
What is the difference between refrigeration and freezing?
Answer:
In refrigeration, the storing of the food is done at a temperature of 0°C to 5°C, whereas
freezing is used to store food at -18°C of temperature.
Question 18.
What is decomposition?
Answer:
Decomposition is the process in which organic materials are broken down into simple
inorganic sub-stances by the microorganisms.
Question 19.
Name the two microbes that are involved in the process of decomposition.
Answer:
Bacteria and fungi
Question 20.
Name the first antibiotic discovered.
Answer:
Penicillin
Short questions
Question 1.
What are microorganisms? Give four examples.
Answer:
Small organisms that cannot be seen through the naked eyes and can only be seen under a
microscope are called microorganisms or microbes; e.g., Amoeba, Paramecium, Volvox,
Spirogyra, etc.
Question 2.
Classify bacteria on the basis of their shapes.
Answer:
On the basis of their shapes, bacteria are classified into four categories:
 rod-shaped bacteria (bacilli)
 spherical-shaped bacteria (cocci)
 curved-shaped bacteria (vibrios)
 spiral-shaped bacteria (spirilla)
Question 3.
Define communicable diseases. Give some examples.
Answer:
Communicable diseases are microbial diseases that can spread from an infected person to a
healthy person through air, water, or other physical contacts; e.g., cholera, chicken pox,
tuberculosis, common cold, etc.
Question 4.
Differentiate between viruses and other microorganisms.
Answer:

Viruses Other microbes

(ii) They are non-cellular microbes. (ii) They are cellular microbes.

Question 5.
What do you mean by food spoilage?
Answer:
The process in which food is deteriorated to such extent that it does not remain fit for human
consumption is known as food spoilage.
Question 6.
What role does sugar play in the preservation of food?
Answer:
The role of sugar in food preservation is significant. By adding sugar in the food item, we
reduce its moisture content and hence, it stops the growth of the microorganisms.
Question 7.
How are carriers harmful to us?
Answer:
Carriers take with them many harmful microorganisms or pathogens. They play a great role
in transferring these pathogens to a healthy person, by sitting on the food items, or directly
transferring the pathogens inside the body of a person. Hence they are harmful to us.
Question 8.
What is vaccination?
Answer:
The process of putting a vaccine inside the body of a person in order to produce immunity
against some disease is called vaccination.
Question 9.
What do you mean by immunity?
Answer:
Immunity is the ability of a body to develop resistance against diseases.
Question 10.
Give two examples of each of the following types of microorganisms:
(a) Algae
(b) Fungi
(c) Protozoa
Answer:
(a) Algae – Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas
(b) Fungi – Aspergillus, yeast
(c) Protozoa – Paramecium, Amoeba
Virus-resistant clothing
Question 11.
What are antibodies?
Answer:
Whenever any harmful disease-causing microorganism enters the human body, the body
produces substances to fight with the entered microbe. These substances are called
antibodies.
Question 12.
What is the role of bacteria in increasing the soil fertility?
Answer:
Some bacteria, which are present in the root nodules of leguminous plants or free-living fix
the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil which is ultimately used up by the plants. Hence they
increase the fertility of the soil. For example, Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, etc.
Question 13.
Define Ohmic heating.
Answer:
Ohmic heating is the process in which electric current of high voltage is passed through the
food items to kill the microbes that cause the spoilage of food.
Question 14.
What is sterilisation?
Answer:
The process of killing all the microorganisms above the temperature of 100°C is known as
sterilisation. It is one of the widely used methods to preserve food, and is often used for
various food items.
Question 15.
What is pasteurisation?
Answer:
Pasteurisation can be defined as the partial sterilisation of foods at a temperature that destroys
harmful microorganisms without major changes in the chemical property of the food.
Long Answer Questions
Question 1.
Explain why antibiotics do not work against flu or any infection caused by viruses.
Answer:
Viruses cannot be killed by using antibiotics as their cell pathways are different from that of
bacteria. It means taking antibiotics to get rid of flu or any other viral infection is useless,
because it does not re-duce the strength of the virus, nor does it reduce the duration of the
infection. But, however, antibiotic will work if we get attacks of viral infection and bacterial
disease at the same time. Even then, it will cure bacterial disease only but not the viral
infection.
Question 2.
Mention any three ways through which pathogens are transmitted.
Answer:
Three ways because of which pathogens are transmitted are as follows:
  When a person sneezes or coughs, tiny droplets containing a number of disease-
causing microorganisms come out of the mouth, and are released in the air. They are
transmitted to a healthy person while breathing.
 By making direct contacts with an infected person, pathogens are transferred to a
healthy person.
 Carriers of pathogens also help in their transmission. For instance, when a fly sits on
animal excreta or garbage, harmful disease-causing microbes stick to its legs. And
when this fly sits on the food items, pathogens get transferred to them. This
contaminated food items cause serious diseases when it is eaten by a healthy person.
Question 3.
Explain canning.
Answer:
Canning is a process used for food preservation. Heat, at a certain temperature and for a
limited period of time, is used to kill the harmful microorganisms as well as enzymes. This
method also involves the removal of oxygen gas, and to avoid post-process contamination by
airtight sealing of food items.
Question 4.
Explain how malaria is transmitted to humans.
Answer:
A protozoan called Plasmodium is responsible for malaria. It lives in the liver and blood of
the person who has been infected by this disease. A female Anopheles mosquito when sucks
blood from the infected person, Plasmodium along with blood, is taken into its stomach. The
Plasmodium, here, multiplies itself and reaches the salivary gland of the mosquito. Now,
when this mosquito bites a healthy person, it injects Plasmodium along with saliva to him.
The healthy person then gets an attack of malaria.
In this way, malaria is transmitted to humans.
Question 5.
Explain various types of bacteria.
Answer:
Bacteria are classified on the basis of their shapes into the following categories:
 Rod-shaped bacteria (bacilli):
These are aerobic rod-shaped, spore-producing bacteria. They are often occurring in
chain-like formations, and they are found primarily in soil; e.g., Lactobacillus.
 Spherical-shaped bacteria (cocci):
They are spherical or nearly spherical bacteria; e.g., Streptococcus.
 Curved-shaped bacteria (vibrios):
They are curved-shaped bacteria; e.g., Vibrio.
 Spiral-shaped bacteria (spirilla):
They are flagellated, aerobic bacteria, having a spirally twisted rod-like form; e.g.,
Treponema.
Higher Order Thinking Skills
Question 1.
Unscramble the jumbled words underlined in the following statements
(a) Curbossulite is an air-borne disease caused by a bacterium.
(b) Xanrhat is a dangerous bacterial disease.
(c) Yeasts are used in the wine industry because of their property of meronettinaf.
(d) Cells of our body produce santiidobe to fight pathogens.
(e) Aeeessrrwtip are added to food to prevent growth of microorganisms.
Answer:
(a) Tuberculosis
(b) Anthrax
(c) Fermentation
(d) antibodies
(e) Preservatives
Question 2.
What is the difference between Rhizobium and cyanobacteria in the way of fixing
nitrogen for the plants?
Answer:
Rhizobium lives in the root nodules of leguminous plants in a symbiotic relationship whereas
cyanobacteria lives freely in the soil and fixes nitrogen.
Question 3.
It is always suggested that not to eat anything from street hawkers. Why?
Answer:
Most of street hawkers sells food items in an open area which always get contaminated with
the dust and flies carrying germs with them. Such an unhygienic condition lead to spoilage of
food which when consumed can lead to serious illness.
Question 4.
Why oil is added while making pickle?
Answer:
Oil seals off the air from the item that is being pickled and thus inhibit the growth of most of
the microorganisms.
Question 5.
Ria thought of making curd. For this, she took lukewarm milk, mixed some curd into it
and stir well. She kept the mixture in fridge. Next day she observed that curd was not
set. Can you tell why the curd did not set?
Answer:
Curd did not set because she kept the mixture in fridge. Lower temperature of fridge retarded
the growth of Lactobacillus in the mixture.
Question 6.
Why do idli and dosa maker add some yeast or old batter of pervious day to the newly-
made batter and keep it for one day?
Answer:
For fermentation of idli and dosa yeast or old batter is added. Fermentation makes idli fluffy
and dosa crispy, and change the flavour.
 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Choose the correct option.
Question 1.
Tiny organisms which cannot be seen with the naked eyes are called
(a) microorganisms
(b) animals
(c) fungi
(d) bacteria
Question 2.
Microorganisms are also known as
(a) yeast
(b) microbes
(c) viruses
(d) Amoeba
Question 3.
Fungus can be seen with a
(a) microscope
(b) telescope
(c) magnifying glass
(d) both (a) and (c)
Question 4.
Microorganisms that causes disease are also kn
(a) pathogens
(b) fungi
(c) antigen
(d) microbes
Question 5.
Pathogens are also called
(a) germs
(b) antigen
(c) antibody
(d) carrier
Question 6.
Bacteria are organisms.
(a) multicellular
(b) unicellular
(c) bicellular
(d) tricellular
Question 7.
Bacilli are the bacteria that are
(a) rod-shaped
(b) comma-shaped
(c) curved-shaped
(d) spiral
Question 8.
Spherical-shaped bacteria are called
(a) bacilli
(b) vibrio
(c) spirilla
(d) cocci
Question 9.
Simple, plant-like microorganisms are called
(a) algae
(b) bacteria
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) protozoa
Question 10.
Medium that transmits pathogens from an infected person to a healthy one is called
(a) fungi
(b) germs
(c) carrier
(d) none of these
Question 11.
Medicine that kills or stops the growth of harmful disease-causing microbes is known as
(a) antibiotic
(b) antibody
(c) antigen
(d) vaccine
Question 12.
The process in which sugar in the food is transformed into alcohol and carbon dioxide by
using microorganisms is known as
(a) transformation
(b) beverage
(c) fermentation
(d) respiration
Question 13.
The fungus that is commonly used in bakery and beverage industries is
(a)Penicillium
(b) Yeast
(c) Agaricus
(d) Rhizopus
Question 14.
Giardia is listed under the category of
(a) fungi
(b) protozoa
(c) bacteria
(d) algae
Question 15.
Substance used to produce immunity against diseases in the living body is called
(a) immune
(b) vaccine
(c) antibody
(d) antigen
Answer:
1. (a)
2. (b)
3. (d)
4. (a)
5. (a)
6. (b)
7. (a)
8. (d)
9. (a)
10. (c)
11. (a)
12. (c)
13. (b)
14. (b)
15. (b)
II. Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the blanks with suitable word/s.
1. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa and _______ are the major four groups in which microorganisms
are classified.
2. Two microorganisms which live in symbiotic association in lichens are _______ and
_______.
3. We use a _______ to see the microorganisms.
4. _______ are considered different from other microorganisms because they can multiply
only by entering the host organisms.
5. The gas released during the preparation of bread is _______.
6. The disease caused by a protozoan and spread by an insect is _______.
7. _______ are curved-shaped bacteria.
8. Saprophytes and _______ are the two main categories of fungi.
9. _______ are the threads of the multicellular fungi.
10. Yeast is a _______ fungus.
11. Protozoa are _______ in nature.
12. Flu, cough and cold are caused by _______.
13. The first antibiotic discovered was _______.
14. _______ are the microorganisms that help in the process of decomposition.
15. The process of formation of curd from milk is known as the _______ of milk.
Answer:
1. algae
2. algae, fungus
3. microscope
4. Viruses
5. carbon dioxide
6. malaria
7. Vibrio
8. parasites
9. Hyphae
10. unicellular
11. heterotrophic
12. viruses
13. penicillin
14. Decomposers
15. curdling
III. Match the following
Match the items given in column I suitably with those given in column II.

Answer:
1. (i)
2. (g)
3. (f)
4. (a)
5. (j)
6. (c)
7. (b)
8. (e)
9. (h)
10. (d)
IV. True or False
State whether the given statements are true or false.
1. Microbiology is the science of study of microbes.
2. All the microorganisms are harmful.
3. An instrument called microscope is required to see the microorganisms.
4. Bacteria have an organised nucleus.
5. Microorganisms are found in large number around us.
6. Viruses are the most useful microbes.
7. Anabaena is listed in the category of algae.
8. Algae tend to develop on wet surfaces.
9. Amoebic dysentery is caused by algae.
10. A fungi is used in the production of alcohol.
11. Jellies, jams and squashes are preserved by adding vinegar to them.
12. Salt is used as a food preservative.
13. Oxygen alone constitutes 78% of air.
Answer:
1. True
2. False
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. False
8. True
9. False
10. True
11. False
12. True
13. False