OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank

OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank

Chapter 9: Microbial Growth

Page 1 of 17

Chapter 9: Microbial Growth

• = Correct answer

Multiple Choice

• Bacteria most commonly reproduce using which of the following methods?
• binary fission*
• budding
• meiosis
• mitosis

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which structure separates new daughter cells in binary fission?
• the crescent
• the division septum*
• the FtsZ
• the spindle apparatus

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which of the following is another term for generation time?
• doubling time*
• growth rate
• mitotic index
• replication index

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which of the following best describes culture density?
• another term for a batch culture
• the number of cells per unit volume*
• the reproducible pattern of growth
• the total number of cells

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: 36

• Which of the following is the correct order of phases of growth in the growth curve of a

batch culture?

• death/decline phase lag phase log phase stationary phase  
• lag phase log phase stationary phase death/decline phase   * 1 / 3

OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank

Chapter 9: Microbial Growth

Page 2 of 17

• log phase lag phase stationary phase death/decline phase  
• stationary phase log phase lag phase death/decline phase  

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: 36

• Which of the following is not a common way bacteria divide?
• binary fission
• budding
• fragmentation
• sporulation*

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which of the following is the term for free-living bacteria?
• biofilms
• pathogenic
• planktonic*
• sessile

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: 21

• Which of the following is not a reactive oxygen species?
• atmospheric oxygen*
• peroxides
• singlet oxygen
• superoxide

Difficulty: Easy

ASM Standard: 14

• Which of the following best describes FtsZ?
• a cytoskeletal protein in eukaryotic cells
• the protein that assembles the Z ring, which forms a divisome before division by binary

fission*

• the protein that forms within the central structure of the new cell wall and septum that

separates the daughter cells during binary fission

• the protein that gives structure to spirochetes, contributing to their unusual shape and

motility

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which microbial pathogen has an unusually long doubling time? 2 / 3

OpenStax Microbiology Test Bank

Chapter 9: Microbial Growth

Page 3 of 17

• Bacillus subtilis
• Escherichia coli
• Mycobacterium leprae*
• Salmonella typhimurium

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: N/A

• The initial cells added to a batch culture are called which of the following?
• the batch
• the culture
• the inoculum*
• the lagging cells

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: 36

• Which best describes bacterial growth during the log phase of the growth curve?
• exponential*
• linear
• S-shaped
• stationary

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: N/A

• Which best defines the term “persisters?”
• cells that form endospores rapidly when environmental conditions become unfavorable,

allowing them to survive in a dormant state without causing disease symptoms

• cells that persist in the log phase for much longer than other cells
• cells that rapidly colonize new environments by releasing virulence factors and moving

through tissues, allowing them to contribute to severe systemic infections.

• cells with relatively slow metabolic rates that survive longer than others during the death

phase and that can cause chronic infections*

Difficulty: Moderate

ASM Standard: 14, 23

• Which type of system is used to maintain bacteria in a relatively constant environment,

allowing them to stay in the log phase of growth?

• bacteriostat
• chemostat*
• maintenance state
• stable state

Difficulty: Moderate

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