Microorganisms

Question 1

what kind of cells are fungi? how do they appear on petri plates?

Answer 1

eukaryotic, appear fuzzy, can get quite large (more than 1 cm)

Question 2

what kind of cells are bacteria? how do they appear on petri plates?

Answer 2

smooth, shiny, and smaller (less than 1 cm)

Question 3

what are the 3 domains?

Answer 3

Domain Bacteria
Domain Archaea
Domain Eukarya

Question 4

what are the 4 kingdoms?

Answer 4

1. Kingdom Animalia → Animal
2. Kingdom Fungi → Fungi
3. Kingdom Protista → Animal-like protist, Fungal like protist, Plant-like protists
4. Kingdom Plantae → Plant

Question 5

what are the 4 characteristics used to identify organisms?

Answer 5

1. cell type
2. mode of nutrition
3. structural complexity
   4 cell walls

Question 6

what are 2 two cell types, how are they identifiable?

Answer 6

1. Prokaryotic → small, lack membrane bound organelles

2. Eukaryotic → larger, membrane bound organelles (eg. nucleus)

Question 7

what are 2 two modes of nutrition, how are they identifiable?

Answer 7

1. Photoautotrophic → usually green, or have chloroplasts; able to synthesize compounds using light as a source of energy, self-feeding
2. Heterotrophic → obtain compounds by ingesting or absorbing; no chloroplasts, typically not green, may have “mouth”

Question 8

what are the 3 types of structural complexity, how are they identifiable?

Answer 8

1. Unicellular → consists of a single cell (eg. 1)
2. Colonial → groups of cells all structurally and functionally similar, form thread, ball, sheet etc. (eg. group of the same)
3. Multicellular → many cells that are specialized structurally and functionally into different types. (eg. group of different)

Question 9

what re the 2 types of cell walls, how are they identifiable?

Answer 9

1. Present → shape is typically square/rectangle/polygonal; can see distinct layer of wall and membrane
2. Absent → shape is round/variable

Question 10

what is a positive control?

Answer 10

Positive control → ensures you can detect what you are measuring. Eg. applying a microorganism on purpose; if organism does not grow, then you cannot trust your results because you are uncertain your experiment is working

Question 11

what is a negative control?

Answer 11

Negative control → makes sure there isn’t a false positive. Eg. no microorganisms applied, but still something grows, we know the medium was contaminated before the experiment

Question 12

using a microorganism dichotomous key: you know your organism is eukaryotic and photoautotrophic, which kingdom is it, and how would you determine this?

Answer 12

1. Plant-like protist –> either unicellular or colonial

2. Plant –> is multicellular

Question 13

using a microorganism dichotomous key: you know your organism is eukaryotic and heterotrophic, which kingdom is it, and how would you determine this?

Answer 13

1. Fungal-like protist –> typically unicellular
2. Animal-like protist –> unicellular
3. Fungi –> multicellular & has walls
4. Animal –> multicellular & cells have no walls