Culturing Microorganisms Practice Questions
Question 1
Q1. Which of the following is NOT a necessary component of a culture medium? (2 marks)
Question 2
Q2. Describe the purpose of aseptic technique in microbiology. (3 marks)
Question 3
Q3. Explain the difference between a selective and a differential culture medium. (4 marks)
Question 4
Q4. A scientist incubated a bacterial culture at 37°C for 24 hours. The culture grew well and formed a dense layer on the medium. What does this result suggest about the optimum temperature for the bacteria's growth? (2 marks)
Question 5
Q5. Explain the advantages of using a pour plate technique over a spread plate technique. (3 marks)
Question 6
Q6. A researcher is studying a new antibiotic. They want to test its effectiveness against a pathogenic bacterium. Which type of culture medium should they use? (2 marks)
Question 7
Q7. Describe the role of a spectrophotometer in culturing microorganisms. (3 marks)
Question 8
Q8. A scientist is using a growth curve to study the growth of a bacterium. Explain the three main phases of growth observed in a growth curve. (4 marks)
Question 9
Q9. Discuss the factors that can affect the growth rate of microorganisms. (5 marks)
Question 10
Q10. A student is investigating the antimicrobial activity of different plant extracts. They are using a well diffusion assay. Explain how they could use this assay to determine the effectiveness of the extracts. (3 marks)