8B.2a Microbes & Health

Question 1

What are the 3 different types of MICROBES? (3)

Answer 1

1. BACTERIA
2. FUNGI
3. VIRUSES

These are so small that they can only be seen through a microscope.

Question 2

Are MICROBES good or bad?

Answer 2

BOTH! Some can cause disease/ILLNESS, others are GOOD for you, or USEFUL.

Question 3

What BAD things can be found in food? (2)

Answer 3

Harmful substances such as PESTICIDES. Also, disease-causing MICROBES, particularly in food that hasn’t been cooked properly.

Question 4

Describe Bacteria (5)

Answer 4

Bacteria are usually SMALL (smaller than fungi). If there is just one of them, we call it a BACTERIUM. Bacteria have many DIFFERENT shapes. Some have ‘tails’ (called FLAGELLA) that let them swim.
They have a cell WALL and a cell MEMBRANE, and CYTOPLASM. But they have NO NUCLEUS, just a chromosome.

Question 5

Describe FUNGI (5)

Answer 5

Mushrooms and toadstools are fungi, but these are made of lots of cells, so they are not microbes. Yeasts are single-celled fungi, so they are microbes. Fungi are usually the biggest type of microbe. If there is just one of them, we call it a fungus.
Fungi have a cell membrane, vacuole, nucleus, food storage granules, and Cytoplasm.

Question 6

Describe VIRUSES and how they reproduce (5)

Answer 6

Viruses are many times SMALLer than bacteria. They are among the smallest organisms known and consist of only a FRAGMENT OF GENETIC MATERIAL inside a PROTECTIVE PROTEIN COAT.

Viruses can only REPRODUCE INSIDE HOST CELLS, and they damage the cell when they do this. A virus can get inside a cell and, once there, take over and make hundreds of thousands of copies of itself. Eventually the virus copies FILL the whole host cell and BURST it open. The viruses are then passed out in the bloodstream, the airways, or by other routes.

Question 7

Give 2 examples of good bacteria, and 2 of bad bacteria. (4)

Answer 7

2 out of each of:
GOOD
1. Digestion in the gut
2. Decomposers in nature
3. Making foods (cheese, yoghurt, vinegar)
4. Sewerage treatment

BAD

1. Meningitis (swelling of the brain lining)
2. Tuberculosis (known as TB, a lung infection)
3. Typhoid
4. Salmonella (food poisoning)
5. Cholera
6. Tetanus

Question 8

Give 2 examples of good FUNGI, and 2 of bad FUNGI. (4)

Answer 8

2 out of each of:
GOOD:
1. YEAST - bread, brewing
2. MUSHROOMS
3. Making ANTIBIOTICS (e.g. Penicillin)
4. Decomposers in nature 

BAD:

1. Mould
2. Athlete’s Foot
3. Nail, hair and skin diseases

Question 9

Give 2 examples of good VIRUSES, and 2 of bad VIRUSES. (4)

Answer 9

GOOD:
1. There are no good viruses!

BAD: 2 from.

1. Influenza
2. Measles
3. Common cold
4. Small Pox
5. Hepatitis
6. Ebola

Question 10

What should we do to stop the spread of microbes? (4)

Answer 10

1. WASH, shower and bathe, to remove microbes from skin.
2. COOK food properly and thoroughly before eating
3. Use CLEAN EQUIPMENT for cooking (pans, cups, plates, cutlery)
4. DISPOSE of RUBBISH, which can grow bacteria if left around.

Question 11

What should we do to stay HEALTHY? (6)

Answer 11

1. Eat a BALANCED DIET
2. EXERCISE, to keep the heart working well
3. Get VACCINATED and IMMUNISED against diseases (Tetanus, Malaria, Polio, Measles)
4. DO NOT SMOKE, as it will give you cancer, heart disease, and many other illnesses.
5. Do not DRINK too much - can lead to liver damage.
6. NEVER TAKE ILLEGAL DRUGS - as they can also kill you.

Question 12

How do vaccines work? (2)

Answer 12

Vaccines work by giving people a weak/dead form of a specific microbe (1), so that their white blood cells can learn to recognise and fight that type of microbe (1).