MCQ History of Microbiology One: The epidemic that infected Europe, Middle East, and North Africa and killed tens of millions of people were known as the Black Death.
The disease was caused by
a) Anthrax
b) Breathing of foul air
d) Smallpox
e) Swine flu
MCQ History of Microbiology Two: The event that triggered the development and establishment of microbiology as a science is the
a) Development of microscope
b) Germ theory of disease
c) Spontaneous generation
d) Use of disinfectants
e) Vaccinations
MCQ History of Microbiology Three: Which of the following pioneers of Microbiology is credited with the discovery of microorganisms using high-quality magnifying lenses (early microscopes)?
a) Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
b) Louis Pasteur
c) Robert Hooke
d) Robert Koch
e) Semmelweis
MCQ History of Microbiology four: Which scientists’ first disproved spontaneous generation by showing that maggots only appear on decaying meat that has been exposed to flies?
a) Francesco Redi
b) Joseph Lister
c) Louis Pasteur
d) Robert Hooke
e) Robert Koch
MCQ History of Microbiology Five: The purpose of swan-necked flasks that Louis Pasteur designed to disprove spontaneous generation is to:
a) Allow the multiplication of microbes in the broth
b) Implicate the role of flies in the development of maggots on rotting meat
c) Pasteurize the meat broth
d) Prevent air from entering the flask
e) Trap the microbes and prevent them from reaching the broth
MCQ History of Microbiology Six: The Alpha helical structure of DNA was discovered by:
a) Edward Tatum
b) Eile Metchnikoff
c) James Watson and Francis Crick
d) Oswald Avery, Maclyn McCarty, and Colin McLeod
e) Paul Ehrlich
MCQ History of Microbiology Seven: Match the following scientists with their contribution:
| I. Elie Metchnikoff | 1 Discovery of Transposons (jumping genes) |
| II. Martinus Beijerinck | 2 Discovery of Arsphenamine (salvarsan) against syphilis |
| III. Barbara McClintock | 3. Cellular immunity (phagocytes) |
| IV. Paul Enrlich | 4. Discovered viruses (called Contagium vivum fluidum) in a filtrate |
a. I-4, II-3, III-2, IV-1
b. I-3, II-4, III-1, IV-2
c. I-3, II-1, III-2, IV-4
d. I-4, II-3, III-1, IV-2
MCQ History of Microbiology Eight:Match the following scientists with their contribution:
| I. Sergey N. Winogradsky | 1 Established germ theory of disease |
| II. Louis Pasteur | 2 Vaccination for Small pox |
| III. Joseph lister | 3. Discovered nitrogen fixing bacteria in soil |
| IV. Edward Jenner | 4. Developed aseptic techniques |
a. I-3, II-1, III-4, IV-2
b. I-3, II-4, III-1, IV-2
c. I-4, II-1, III-2, IV-3
d. I-4, II-1, III-3, IV-2
Answer Keys of MCQs in Microbiology
1. c) Bubonic plague
2. a) Development of Microscope
3. a) Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
4. a) Francesco Redi
5. e) Trap the microbes and prevent them from reaching the broth
6. c) James Watson and Francis Crick
7. b. (I-3, II-4, III-1, IV-2)
8. a. (I-3, II-1, III-4, IV-2)
Some of the scientists and their discoveries
| Investigator | Nationality | Contribution |
| Robert Hooke | English | Discovery of microorganisms (fungi) |
| Antoni van Leeuwenhoek | Dutch | Discovery of bacteria |
| Edward Jenner | English | Vaccination (smallpox) |
| Louis Pasteur | French | Principle of immunization (rabies vaccine), mechanism of fermentation, the defeat of spontaneous generation |
| Joseph Lister | English | Antiseptic surgery |
| Ferdinand Cohn | German | Discovery of endospores |
| Robert Koch | German | Koch’s postulates, the discovery of agents causing tuberculosis and cholera, pure culture microbiology |
| Sergei Winogradsky | Russian | Chemolithotrophy and chemoautotrophy, nitrogen fixation, and discovery of sulfur bacteria |
| Martinus Beijerinck | Dutch | Enrichment culture technique, the concept of the virus, and the discovery of many metabolic groups of bacteria. |
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