wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Year 8: Microbes

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 4hrs 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of these are types of microbe?

a)

Bacteria

b)

Fungi

c)

Mosquito

d)

Virus

2.

Microbes are called microbes because...

a)

you can hear them

through a microscope.

b)

they are very small.

c)

they can only be seen

using a microscope.

3.

Which microbe is the image most likely to be?

a)

Bacteria

b)

Fungus

c)

Virus

d)

None of the above

4.
 is a microscopic organism, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host.
a)
bacteria
b)
virus
c)
parasite
d)
fungus
5.

Look at the two pictures.

What do they show?

a)

X is a fungus and Y is a bacterium

b)

X is a pollen grain and Y is a virus

c)

X is a crustacean and Y is a plant

d)

X is a virus and Y is a bacterium

6.

Which best compares a virus to a bacterium?

a)

A virus is a large, living particle, and a bacterium is a large, living cell.

b)

A virus is a tiny, nonliving particle, and a bacterium is a large, living cell.

7.

Microorganisms that cause diseases are called __________ .

a)

parasite

b)

pathogens

c)

host

d)

preservatives

8.

Which microbe would be considered the smallest and can cause a cold or the flu?

a)

Tick

b)

Bacterium

c)

Virus

d)

Germ

9.

Which type of microbe lives and grows like plants and can cause athlete’s foot?

a)

Protozoa

b)

Virus

c)

Fungi

d)

Bacteria

10.

Which of the following is

true for bacteria?

a)

It has a cell wall.

b)

It is destroyed by antibiotics

c)

It has a protein coat.

d)

It produces toxins.

11.

Which pathogen invades healthy cells

and use organelles to make

copies of itself?

a)

Virus

b)

Bacteria

c)

Fungi

d)

Parasite

12.

Why do some people think that viruses

are not living things?

a)

They cannot carry out all seven

of the life processes.

b)

They can give people diseases.

c)

They do not have lungs and so cannot breathe.

d)

They are too small to see.

13.

When a microbe gives you a disease you are said to be:

a)

injected with a microbe

b)

indebted with a microbe

c)

infected with a microbe

d)

ingested with a microbe

14.

What does the word

“transmitted” mean?

a)

spoken

b)

thrown

c)

spread

d)

read

15.

Bacteria and viruses can reproduce quickly inside the body and make people feel ill. Bacteria and viruses make us feel ill because they produce _______________ .

a)

antitoxins

b)

toxins

c)

antibodies

16.

Which of these are ways in

which microbes can be spread?

a)

Water and Food

b)

Air

c)

Direct Contact

d)

Body Fluids

e)

Animals/Insects

17.

In which way does cold spread?

a)

Drinking contaminated water

b)

Animals that draw blood

c)

Droplets in the air when people cough or sneeze

d)

Eating food that is contaminated

e)

Breathing air polluted with carbon dioxide

18.

Colds, flu, chickenpox and AIDS are all caused by

a)

virus

b)

fungi

c)

polluted air

d)

animals

19.

What are TWO examples of

how microbes can help us.

a)

Make bread dough rise

and make yogurt

b)

Cramp your stomach

and give you gas

c)

Make your hair shiny

and clear up acne

d)

None of these

20.

Which of these shows the correct word

equation for fermentation?

a)

oxygen + glucose → carbon dioxide + water

b)

carbon dioxide + water → oxygen + glucose

c)

glucose → carbon dioxide + ethanol

d)

xenon + krypton → argon + neon + moron

21.

Which of the products in fermentation

is used to make beer?

a)

Glucose

b)

Oxygen

c)

Carbon dioxide

d)

Ethanol

22.

Which of the products in fermentation

is used to make bread rise?

a)

Glucose

b)

Oxygen

c)

Carbon dioxide

d)

Ethanol

23.

Which microbe is used

to make bread rise?

a)

Bacteria

b)

Yeast

c)

Plants

d)

Sodium Bicarbonate

e)

Virus

24.

Look at the diagram.

The organ shown in the diagram

can kill microbes because:

a)

it is very hot.

b)

it squashes them

c)

there is no air in it

d)

it contains hydrochloric acid

25.

Which hair-like structures in the airways

prevent the entrance of pathogens to the lungs?

a)

Cilia

b)

Mitochondria

c)

Flagella

d)

Plasmids

26.

The spread of disease can be prevented by

a)

simple hygiene measure

b)

destroying vectors

c)

isolation of infected individuals

d)

vaccination

27.

Which of the following is the

body's defense against infectious organisms and other invaders?

a)

Respiratory system

b)

Endocrine system

c)

Immune system

d)

Circulatory system

28.

White blood cells help to defend the body against pathogens.

How do the white blood cells do this?

(Select THREE answers)

a)

Clone pathogens

b)

Engulf pathogens

c)

Produce antibiotics

d)

Produce antibodies

e)

Produce antitoxins

29.

A substance that is capable of triggering

an immune system response.

a)

Antibodies

b)

Antigens

c)

Phagocytes

d)

Lymphocytes

30.

What is an antigen?

a)

A chemical produced by

the white blood cells

b)

A chemical on the

surface of the pathogen

c)

A microbe that causes a disease

31.

What is in a vaccine?

a)

small amounts of dead pathogens

b)

large amounts of live pathogens

c)

large amounts of dead pathogens

32.

Vaccines make your body:

a)

produce antibodies against a disease.

b)

stop working to allow an operation to be done.

c)

cool down when you get a temperature.

d)

produce extra cells to mend broken bones

33.

Antibodies are made by

a)

red blood cells

b)

white blood cells

c)

bacteria

d)

platelets

34.

The vaccine stimulates the white blood cells to produce ___________________ which destroy the virus.

a)

antibiotics

b)

antibodies

c)

drugs

35.

What is true of white blood cells in a second exposure to infection?

a)

They are produced more rapidly

and in greater numbers

b)

They are produced more slowly

but in greater numbers

c)

They are produced more rapidly

but in lower numbers

36.

Polio is a disease caused by a virus.

In the UK, children are given polio vaccine to protect them against the disease.


The vaccine contains an ______________

form of the polio virus.

a)

active

b)

infective

c)

inactive

37.

If more people were vaccinated the number of children getting chickenpox would decrease.


What are TWO possible reasons for this decrease?

a)

Drugs to treat chickenpox are no longer effective

b)

Children are less likely to come into contact with someone with the disease

c)

More people will have the correct antibodies

d)

People may catch the disease from the vaccination

e)

People may have a weakened immune system

38.

An antibiotic is a medicine that:

a)

kills bacteria and viruses

b)

kills only bacteria

c)

kills only viruses

d)

is dangerous and is no longer used

39.

What is the name of the gelatinous substance

on which microbes can be grown in the laboratory?

a)

Gum

b)

Nutrients

c)

Plastic jelly

d)

Agar

40.
Based on the figure, which antibiotic inhibited the growth of the bacteria the most?
a)
A
b)
B
c)
C
d)
D
41.

True or False.

Antibiotics can kill viruses.

a)

True

b)

False

42.

Why it is difficult to develop

drugs that kill viruses?

a)

because drugs that kill viruses

also damage the body’s tissues.

b)

because viruses mutate quickly

c)

because viruses are small

d)

because viruses cannot

reproduce by themselves

43.

Overuse of antibiotics might speed up the development of _________________ strains of ____________________ .

a)

resistant; bacteria

b)

resistant; antibody

c)

immune; antibody

d)

immune; viruses

44.

New strains of pathogens have developed

which are resistant to antibiotics.

New strains are produced when pathogens _______________ .

a)

are short of food

b)

mutate

c)

invade body cells

45.

Which is the most likely reason for a decline in antibiotic use?

a)

Antibiotics have severe

health side effects.

b)

Companies find antibiotics

too expensive to produce.

c)

Most health insurance does not cover

treatment with antibiotics.

d)

Bacterial infections have become

resistant to present antibiotic treatment.

46.

Why is it bad to stop taking your antibiotic before the doctor recommends?

a)

not all of the bacteria is killed, possibly leading to resistance

b)

you will weaken your immune system

c)

you'll get MRSA

d)

you'll gain weight

47.

What is a painkiller?

a)

A drug that kills bacteria

b)

A drug that causes hallucinations

c)

a drug or a medicine for relieving pain.

d)

A drug only prescribed for adults

48.
Which pathogen can be cured by antibiotics?
a)
Virus
b)
Bacteria
c)
Protist
d)
Fungi
49.

Which pathogen can be prevented by the use of vaccines?

a)

Virus

b)

Bacteria

c)

Fungi

d)

Parasite

50.

A microbe that is not affected by an antibiotic is said to be:

a)

susceptible to the antibiotic

b)

resistant to the antibiotic

c)

killed by the antibiotic

d)

denatured by the antibiotic