Question 1

The thin envelope of life that surrounds the earth's surface is called the ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   hydrosphere
B)   lithosphere
C)   biosphere
D)   atmosphere
E)   ecosystemF) B) and E)
G) B) and C) C

Question 2

Which of the following statements regarding red tides is incorrect?

Accepted Answer

A)   Toxins produced by dinoflagellates are skin irritants.
B)   Red tides are also known as harmful algal blooms (HABs) .
C)   Dinoflagellates produce a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.
D)   Red tides result from an overgrowth of dinoflagellates.E) B) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 3

The mutualistic partnership between plant roots and microbes is ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   basidia
B)   lichens
C)   mycorrhizae
D)   rhizopods
E)   hyphaeF) A) and D)
G) A) and B)

Question 4

Organisms that inhabit soil or water and breakdown and absorb the organic matter of dead organisms are called ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   autotrophs
B)   decomposers
C)   secondary consumers
D)   primary consumersE) C) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 5

The zone of soil around roots of plants is called the ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   biosphere
B)   lithosphere
C)   rhizosphere
D)   hydrosphere
E)   ionosphereF) D) and E)
G) A) and E)

Question 6

Which of the following organisms anaerobically reduces sulfates to hydrogen sulfide or metal sulfide?

Accepted Answer

A)   Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
B)   Nitrosococcus
C)   Desulfovibrio
D)   Thiobacillus thiooxidans
E)   RhizobiumF) None of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 7

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is

Accepted Answer

A)   removed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
B)   a source of carbon for autotrophs.
C)   returned to the atmosphere during respiration and fermentation.
D)   used by marine organisms to make limestone for their hard shells.
E)   All of the choices are correct.F) C) and D)
G) D) and E)

Question 8

Which of the following is true of water-saturated soils?

Accepted Answer

A)   They have a low carbon dioxide content.
B)   They contain anaerobes.
C)   They have a high oxygen content.
D)   They provide gases for soil microbes.E) C) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 9

You have drained a pond on your property to make it deeper.In the process of using a machine to dig,you find that the mud is black and smells terrible.Your prediction is that ______ bacteria predominate in this area of the mud.

Accepted Answer

A)   denitrifying 
B)   sulfur-reducing
C)   sulfur-oxidizing
D)   nitrifying
E)   nitrogen-fixingF) None of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 10

Mycorrhizae are the mutualistic relationship between fungi and the roots of certain plants.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The full extent of the diversity and abundance of life on earth has only been understood in the past few years as a result of

Accepted Answer

A)   microscopy techniques to identify the vast quantity of viruses present in all environments.
B)   advances in deep oceanography and deep earth mining engineering.
C)   environmental movements to preserve parks, coral reefs, and glaciers.
D)   techniques to identify organisms that do not rely on culturing.E) None of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 12

Chemical elements needed in trace amounts for biochemical reactions have a biogeochemical cycle,including boron,chromium,manganese,and cobalt.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which organism is a nitrogen-fixing symbiont of legumes?

Accepted Answer

A)   Clostridium
B)   Pseudomonas
C)   Rhizobium
D)   NitrobacterE) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 14

Vast numbers of microorganisms are being genetically characterized without culturing them in the laboratory today through ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   mass spectrometry and proteomics
B)   polymerase chain reaction
C)   column chromatography
D)   metagenomic sequencingE) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 15

You have been using massive amounts of weed killer and insecticide to kill weeds in your yard,as well as the grubs and aphids that are munching on your roses and your grass.What effect might this have from a microbiological standpoint?

Accepted Answer

A)   Loss of microbial diversity in the soil
B)   Reduction in microbial numbers in the soil
C)   Damage to the nitrogen fixing bacteria
D)   Damage to the mycorrhizae
E)   All of the above may be effects of this practice.F) A) and C)
G) A) and E)

Question 16

Which of the following processes is not a part of metagenomic analysis of an environment?

Accepted Answer

A)   Reverse transcription
B)   DNA sequence assembly
C)   Extraction of DNA from original sample
D)   High-throughput sequencing
E)   Polymerase chain reactionF) C) and D)
G) A) and E) A

Question 17

The slowly decaying organic litter from plant and animal tissues that is found in the soil is called ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   the lithosphere
B)   detritus
C)   aggregate
D)   a biofilmE) A) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 18

The oxidation of ammonia (NH4+) to nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) is called ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   nitrogen fixation
B)   nitrification
C)   ammonification
D)   photosynthesis
E)   denitrificationF) A) and B)
G) A) and C)

Question 19

Select the statement that explains the usefulness of metagenomic analysis in research today.

Accepted Answer

A)   It evaluates microbial diversity in a habitat.
B)   It allows the identification of unculturable microorganisms.
C)   It detects the abundance of microorganisms in an environment.
D)   All of these are correct statements.E) A) and C)
F) All of the above D

Question 20

A group of organisms of the same genus within a community is called a ______.

Accepted Answer

A)   biome
B)   community
C)   habitat
D)   niche
E)   populationF) A) and C)
G) A) and B)

Exam 24: Microbes and the Environment

The thin envelope of life that surrounds the earth's surface is called the ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedC

Which of the following statements regarding red tides is incorrect?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The mutualistic partnership between plant roots and microbes is ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Organisms that inhabit soil or water and breakdown and absorb the organic matter of dead organisms are called ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The zone of soil around roots of plants is called the ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following organisms anaerobically reduces sulfates to hydrogen sulfide or metal sulfide?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is true of water-saturated soils?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

You have drained a pond on your property to make it deeper.In the process of using a machine to dig,you find that the mud is black and smells terrible.Your prediction is that ______ bacteria predominate in this area of the mud.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Mycorrhizae are the mutualistic relationship between fungi and the roots of certain plants.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The full extent of the diversity and abundance of life on earth has only been understood in the past few years as a result of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Chemical elements needed in trace amounts for biochemical reactions have a biogeochemical cycle,including boron,chromium,manganese,and cobalt.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which organism is a nitrogen-fixing symbiont of legumes?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Vast numbers of microorganisms are being genetically characterized without culturing them in the laboratory today through ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

You have been using massive amounts of weed killer and insecticide to kill weeds in your yard,as well as the grubs and aphids that are munching on your roses and your grass.What effect might this have from a microbiological standpoint?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following processes is not a part of metagenomic analysis of an environment?

Correct AnswerverifiedA

The slowly decaying organic litter from plant and animal tissues that is found in the soil is called ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The oxidation of ammonia (NH4+) to nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) is called ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Select the statement that explains the usefulness of metagenomic analysis in research today.

Correct AnswerverifiedD

A group of organisms of the same genus within a community is called a ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is

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A

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The oxidation of ammonia (NH₄⁺) to nitrate (NO₃^-) and nitrite (NO₂^-) is called ______.

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D

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