Bacteria and Viruses Quiz

Bacteria

• Aerobes: require oxygen to grow.
• Anaerobes: grow in the absence of oxygen and are destroyed by oxygen.
• Facultative anaerobes: can grow with or without oxygen.
• Bacilli: rod-shaped bacteria that cause tuberculosis and other diseases.
• Cocci: spherical bacterial cells that reproduce by dividing into two.
• Spirochetes: spiral-shaped bacteria.
• Staphylococci: Cocci that form irregular groups or clusters.
• Streptococci: Cocci that form chains as they divide.
• Endospores: resistant, dormant structures formed inside some bacteria that can withstand adverse conditions.

Gram Staining

• Gram Stain: four-step staining process used to separate bacteria into groups.
• Gram-positive: bacteria that hold a dye stain and appear dark purple under a microscope.
• Gram-negative: bacteria that do not hold a dye stain under a microscope.
• Gram-variable: bacteria that are not consistently stained.

Viruses

• Viruses: ultramicroscopic infectious agents that replicate inside living cells.
• Herpesvirus: causes infections in humans, such as herpes, cytomegalovirus, chickenpox, shingles, mononucleosis, measles, and Kaposi’s sarcoma.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV): the most common STD in the United States can cause health problems that includes genital warts and cancer.
• Provirus: virus that is hidden during the latency period.

Diseases

• COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2): A Coronavirus that is spread person-to-person; caused a pandemic in December 2019.
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: rare chronic brain disease with onset in middle to late life (40 to 60 years).
• Ebola: rare but deadly virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body.
• H1N1: form of swine influenza virus.

Miscellaneous

• Chancre: painless ulcerating sore.
• Microcephaly: abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): type of infection that is resistant to some antibiotics.
• Nonpathogenic: pertaining to microorganisms that do not produce disease.
• Oral candidiasis: Candida yeast infection of the oral mucosa.
• Pandemic: condition that occurs throughout the people of a country or the world.
• Pathogens: disease-producing microorganisms.
• Percutaneous: through the skin, such as a needle stick, a cut, or a human bite.
• Petri plate: small, flat dish made of thin glass or plastic that contains a sterile solid medium for the culture of microorganisms.
• Prions: infectious particles of proteins that lack nucleic acids.
• Protozoa: single-celled microscopic animals without a rigid cell wall.
• Tyndallization: intermittent, or fractional, sterilization.
• Virulent: capable of causing serious disease.
• Zika: a virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito.

Other Key Terms

• Latent: dormant.
• Microbiology: the study of microorganisms.
• Fungi: organisms, such as mushrooms, yeasts, and molds found on the land.

Test your knowledge on bacteria and viruses with this quiz. Explore different types of bacteria, their shapes, and the effects of oxygen on their growth. You'll also learn about the gram staining process and the differences between various bacterial groups.