Review Questions  - Exam 2 

The following sample exam question is one of my favorites. Take a look at what these bacteria are using and what waste products they are producing. This will tell you a lot about the kind of metabolism they are using. 

Dick has obtained five water samples from the lake and sets them up so he can measure the concentration of various chemicals in them. Dick measures the chemicals at the start of the experiment and again 24 hours later. (arrows indicate increase or decrease; - means no change)

 

Glucose

CO2

SO42-

H2S

O2

Ethanol

Sample 1

-

¯

¯

¯

-

Sample 2

¯

-

-

-

Sample 3

-

¯

-

-

-

Sample 4

¯

¯

 -

-

Sample 5

¯

-

-

¯

-

 

  1. According to the data above, what kind of metabolism are the bacteria in sample 4 doing?
    1. Aerobic respiration
    2. Anaerobic respiration
    3. Chemolithotrophy
    4. Fermentation
    5. Photosynthesis

     

  2. Which of the water samples probably contains cyanobacteria?
    1. Sample 1
    2. Sample 2
    3. Sample 3
    4. Sample 4
    5. Sample 5

Review Questions

  1. Distinguish among sterilization, disinfection, sanitization, and antisepsis.
  2. How does Pasteurization differ from tyndallization?
  3. List three physical means of controlling bacterial growth.
  4. What are the major chemical classes of disinfectants? Give specific examples of several chemical compounds used as disinfectants/antiseptics.
  5. How do chemical and physical factors kill/inhibit bacteria?
  6. Distinguish among: antiseptic, disinfectant, antibiotic, chemotherapeutic agent
  7. Explain D-value, thermal death point, thermal death time.
  8. Give specific examples of how bacterial growth in food can be prevented. What are advantages and disadvantages of each method?
  9. What properties of food help reduce the growth of microbes?
  10. Differentiate between metabolism, anabolism, catabolism

  11.  What sources of energy can bacteria use?  How does this differ from animals? Plants? Protists?

  12. What is ATP?  Write out the chemical reaction that shows how ATP serves as the cellular energy 'currency'.

  13. Differentiate between oxidation and reduction. Give examples of oxidation and reduction reactions.

  14. What are NAD, FAD, and NADP?  How do they help 'store' energy?

  15. What are the 3 types of WORK a cell does?  What is needed for this? 

  16. What is an enzyme?  What are its characteristics?

  17. What factors affect the functioning of enzymes?

  18. What are the stages of catabolism? Diagram the catabolic pathways for starch, protein, and fats.

  19. Do all macromolecule hydrolysis reactions occur outside the cell? Explain.

  20. Distinguish: ß-oxidation, glycolysis, deamination, hydrolysis, Krebs cycle, respiration, fermentation

  21.  In what 2 ways (or forms) is energy 'captured' during catabolism?

  22.   How is reducing power (NADH, FADH2) converted to ATP?

  23. What are the 3 ways to break down glucose to pyruvate?  Which of these is found only in bacteria?

  24. What are some of the byproducts of protein catabolism?

  25. What happens in the Krebs cycle?  What are the 'end products' of this cycle?

  26. What is the usual purpose for the pentose phosphate pathway?

  27. What type of bacteria do Entner-Doudoroff pathways?

  28. What does the electron transport chain do? What are cytochromes?

  29. How does a cell generate energy if there is no oxygen around?

  30. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic metabolism?

  31.   What are the metabolic end products of aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration, and fermentation?

  32.   How much energy is gained from these 3 processes (relatively)?

  33.  What is fermentation?  What is its purpose? Under what circumstances does a cell carry out fermentation?

  34. What is anaerobic respiration?  What are some examples of electron acceptors used?

  35. Distinguish among photo-, substrate-level, and oxidative phosphorylation.

  36. How does bacterial metabolism impact the environment? 

  37. Give specific examples of fermentation byproducts.  How can these be detected?

  38. Which of the following is the MOST REDUCED? N2, H2O, NO3, NO2, O2, NH4

  39. Where do lithotrophs get their energy from?  Where do they get their 'building materials' for growth?

  40. Are lithotrophs usually aerobes, facultative anaerobes, or anaerobes?  Explain.

  41. Distinguish photosynthesis in green & purple bacteria, cyanobacteria, and algae.

  42. What molecules are used to capture light energy?  Give examples.

  43. Which phototrophs produce oxygen?

  44. Distinguish between cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation.

  45. What is the source of electrons for making NADPH in sulfur bacteria? Non-sulfur bacteria? Cyanobacteria?

  46. How much ATP is needed to make glucose during the Calvin cycle?

  47. What are the 3 stages of the dark reactions? During what stage is the NADPH used up?

  48. At what time of the day can the light reactions and the dark reactions occur?

  49. Name 3 ways by which inorganic phosphate is incorporated into organic compounds.

  50. What is assimilatory reduction of nitrate/sulfate?

  51. By what process is N2 gas incorporated into organic compounds?  What bacteria can do this?

  52. Explain the main steps of biosynthesis. Where do bacteria get their precursor molecules?

  53. What are translation, replication, and transcription?

  54. Describe the structure of DNA. What is meant by "complementary"?

  55. What are the 3 chemical components of a nucleotide? 

  56. Where does the energy come from to make the DNA polymer?

  57. Name 3 differences between RNA and DNA.  What are the nitrogenous bases used in each?

  58. What bases pair up with each other?  What would the complementary DNA sequence be for: TACACGCATA?

  59. How is DNA packaged within cells?  What is a supercoil?

  60. How do bacteria differ from protozoa in terms of their DNA?

  61. Explain the process of replication in 3 steps. What enzymes are necessary for this?

  62. Explain the 3 steps by which transcription takes place. What enzymes are needed?

  63. Explain the 3 steps of translation. What is a ‘codon’?

  64. How do replication, transcription, and translation differ in bacteria and eukaryotes?

  65. What are 3 kinds of RNA found in cells?

  66. What would the RNA and amino acid sequence be if you transcribed and translated the sequence in Q. 49?