Which is a true statement?

Some microorganisms are harmful while others are beneficial.

All microorganisms are harmful.

All microorganisms are beneficial.

Microorganisms are beneficial only to humans.

Which best describes where you would find microorganisms?

in animals, plants, and humans.

Marco went to the doctor and was given a vaccine containing a virus. When Marco was surprised the vaccine contained a virus, the doctor explained that viruses and other microorganisms...

should not be placed in the body

What does a Nucleus do?

Directs cell activities and protects plant cell

What are three helpful organisms?

Yeast for bread, phytoplankton,mold for pencillin

Which of the following is a beneficial role played by fungi

They are a source of antibiotics

Viridiana observes her mother eating yogurt with Probiotics. She realizes that her mother is eating microorganisms. The student is wondering if her mother will get sick. Which statement has the best reason and evidence to give the student?

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that live in the digestive organs. They can digest foods and keep the gut healthy. Her mother will not get sick.

Probiotics are microorganisms are too small to be seen and can have no effect on the human body.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast. All bacteria can make humans sick. Mother should not eat them.

Probiotics make the yogurt taste better but they are microorganisms that can cause viruses and bacteria that can cause infections.

5th Grade Microorganisms

Quiz

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Biology

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4th - 5th Grade

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Practice Problem

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Medium

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NGSS

MS-LS1-2, MS-LS2-3, MS-LS2-4

Standards-aligned

Shamar Dawson

Used 421+ times

FREE Resource

About this resource

This quiz comprehensively covers microorganisms at the 5th grade level, focusing on the fundamental understanding that microorganisms are everywhere and can be both beneficial and harmful to humans and the environment. The questions assess students' knowledge of basic cell structures like cytoplasm and nucleus, different types of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and their various roles in daily life. Students need to understand key vocabulary such as "micro" meaning tiny and "beneficial" meaning helpful, while also grasping concrete examples of how microorganisms function in food production (yeast in bread, bacteria in yogurt and cheese), medicine (penicillin from mold, probiotics for digestive health), and disease (viruses causing colds, bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli in food safety). The quiz requires students to distinguish between helpful microorganisms like algae and plankton versus harmful ones that cause diseases like strep throat or skin conditions, and to understand that the same type of microorganism can have both beneficial and detrimental effects depending on the context. Created by Shamar Dawson, a Biology teacher in US who teaches grade 4-5. This quiz serves as an excellent formative assessment tool to gauge student understanding of microorganisms before moving into more advanced biological concepts in middle school. Teachers can use this as a comprehensive review after completing a unit on microorganisms, as homework to reinforce classroom learning, or as a warmup activity to activate prior knowledge before introducing related topics like ecosystems or human body systems. The variety of question formats, including true/false, multiple choice, and scenario-based problems, makes it suitable for differentiated instruction and helps students apply their knowledge to real-world situations like food safety and medical treatments. This assessment aligns with 5-LS2-1 (developing models to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment) and supports foundational understanding for MS-LS1-5 (constructing scientific explanations based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms).