Louis Pasteur and the Germ Theory

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What is the process called when milk is heated to a temperature of 50 or 60 degrees centigrade to make germs harmless?

Pasteurization

What branch of science did Louis Pasteur found?

Bacteriology

What did Louis Pasteur believe was the cause of most infectious diseases?

Bacteria

Who had already discovered vaccination for smallpox before Pasteur's time?

Dr. Jenner Signup and view all the answers

What did Louis Pasteur spend three years tracking down the cause of, which had ruined the silkworm industry?

Disease Signup and view all the answers

What did Louis Pasteur experiment with in his laboratories to help his fellow human beings?

Research Signup and view all the answers

What was the purpose of Pasteur's experiment with bottles of soup in different locations?

To show the difference between pure and stale air. Signup and view all the answers

What was the result of the bottles opened in the hotel bedroom in Pasteur's experiment?

The soup had gone completely mouldy. Signup and view all the answers

Why did Pasteur open some bottles of soup on a high mountain in his experiment?

To see if the bottles would contain germs. Signup and view all the answers

What did Pasteur's experiment with the bottles of soup demonstrate about the importance of pure air?

Pure air is essential to prevent the growth of harmful germs. Signup and view all the answers

What term is used to describe the process discovered by Pasteur to prevent wine from souring?

Pasteurization Signup and view all the answers

How did Pasteur's experiments contribute to the understanding of spontaneous generation?

They disproved the theory of spontaneous generation by showing the role of germs in contamination. Signup and view all the answers

What was one of the main problems Louis Pasteur was trying to answer?

Do germs form from other germs, or do they just come of themselves? Signup and view all the answers

Explain the concept of 'spontaneous generation' and how it related to the belief about germs at that time.

Spontaneous generation was the belief that germs had no parents but just occurred by themselves. Some people believed in this idea, thinking germs could arise spontaneously. Signup and view all the answers

Describe Louis Pasteur's experiment to prove his theory about the origin of germs.

Pasteur put soup in bottles, boiled them to destroy any germs, then bent the necks of the bottles. The soup remained uncontaminated because no parent germs could reach it. Signup and view all the answers

What was the significance of the bend in the bottle neck in Pasteur's experiment?

The bend acted as a 'dust trap' preventing germs from reaching the soup, thereby keeping it uncontaminated. Signup and view all the answers

How did Pasteur show that germs from the air could contaminate the soup in his experiment?

Pasteur spilt a little soup down the tube to the bend, where it went bad. This demonstrated that dust, carrying germs, could infect the soup beyond the 'dust trap.' Signup and view all the answers

What was the role of dust in Pasteur's experiment and how did it relate to the contamination of the soup?

Dust carried germs with it and settled in the bend of the bottle neck, infecting the soup beyond the 'dust trap.' Signup and view all the answers

Louis Pasteur and the Germ Theory

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