Name___________________________
Date_________________
1) Peter finds some mould and bacteria growing on a sandwich in his lunchbox. Write
true or false next to each of these sentences.
Micro organisms are living things
TRUE
Micro organisms can grow
TRUE
Micro organisms can reproduce
TRUE
Micro organisms are too small to be seen with the eyes
TRUE
2) What should he do with his sandwich?
THROW IT AWAY / DISPOSE OF IT…
3) Why?
MICRO-ORGANISMS CAN MAKE YOU SICK…
4) Jimmy fills 6 bottles with yeast, sugar and water at different temperatures. He
returns 30 minutes later. Draw the balloon on each bottle to show what has
happened.
5) Jimmy's experiment is evidence (NOT PROOF) that yeast is... (write true or false)
a living thing
TRUE
a micro-organism
TRUE
Name___________________________
Date_________________
6) Edward Jenner was a doctor who lived a long time ago.
He noticed that people who had a disease called cowpox did not catch the more
dangerous smallpox.
He carried out a test. He used cowpox to see if it could stop people catching
smallpox.
He carried out this test on several people
Why did he carry out his test on several people instead of just one?
Words giving the idea that he wanted TO MAKE HIS TEST RELIABLE / ONE PERSON
MIGHT HAVE HAD NATURAL IMMUNITY / TO BE SURE IT WORKED…
NOT to make it a fair test (One person would have been fair, just not very reliable)
7) Smallpox was caused by a type of micro organism.
Which of these are types of micro organisms? Tick or Cross
Bacteria
y
Fungi
Flower
Seed
Insect
Frog
Blood cell
Virus
y
y
8)Micro organisms can be useful. Write down 2 different reasons how micro organisms
can be useful to people.
TWO from produce food (bread, yoghurt), drinks (beer, wine), get rid of waste,
compost for growing, produce medicines (penicillin etc)
Name___________________________
Date_________________
9)Sarah wants to find out who has the cleanest hands - boys or girls.
She asks two boys, James and David, to place their hands on a piece of bread each.
She asks two girls, Jenny and Diane, to do the same.
Then she puts each piece of bread in a Ziploc bag and leaves them for two weeks.
When she comes back all the pieces of bread are very mouldy. She estimates the
amount of mould on each piece of bread.
Why does Sarah put the bread in Ziploc bags?
One from to stop bacteria getting in / to keep bacteria from getting out
Sarah says her results show that boys have more bacteria on their hands than girls.
James says her investigation is not very reliable and does not prove that boys have
more bacteria on their hands than girls.
Who is right?
Sarah
James
y
Both of them
What could Sarah do to make her test more reliable?
One from: test more children, ask the same children to repeat the test etc (anything
to do with repetition)
Name___________________________
Date_________________
10) Mark wants to see the different conditions bacteria and mould need to do well.
He designs this experiment.
He takes a piece of tomato and puts it in the fridge
He takes a piece of bread and puts it in the cupboard
He takes a piece of cheese and puts it on the table.
He checks his three samples after 2 weeks. Which of his 3 food samples would you
expect to have the least mould ?
TOMATO IN FRIDGE
Mandy says Mark's test is not a good test because it is not fair. Why is it not a fair test?
One from: DIFFERENT FOODS / CHANGES MORE THAN ONE VARIABLE / TOO MANY
VARIABLES
11) What are the conditions mould needs to survive? Tick the correct ones.
y
A food source
y
Light
Alcohol
moisture (Water)
warm temperatures
y
very cold temperatures
12) Match the two parts of the sentences together with a line.
Penicillin is a mould.
It gives of gas which helps bread to rise.
Yeast is a fungus.
It was discovered by Alexander Fleming.
It kills bacteria.
Cholera is disease.
It is carried in dirty water. It is caused by
a bacteria.
Name___________________________
Date_________________
13) Steve cooked was cooking some chicken.
First he took some fresh, raw (uncooked) chicken from the fridge and cut it up on the
chopping board and put it in an air tight box.
Then, he cooked some more fresh chicken from the fridge and, when it was cooked,
cut it up on the same chopping board.
Later he was very sick because of a micro organism called salmonella which had got
into his stomach. Salmonella is found in chicken but is killed by hot temperatures. How
did the salmonella get into his stomach? Give as much detail as you can.
THE SALMONELLA CAME FROM THE UNCOOKED CHICKEN/UNCLEAN BOARD/KNIFE TO
THE COOKED CHICKEN (the salmonella entered his stomach on the cooked chicken
which must have been contaminated after cooking)
14) The bacteria entered Steve's body through his mouth. Write down another way
bacteria can get into our bodies
ONE FROM: CUTS, NOSE, EYES and any other body opening...
15) Steve's chicken was fresh but food that has begun to decay can also be very
dangerous. Steve's chicken was kept in the fridge to keep it fresh. Write down another
way we preserve food to stop it decaying. (the pictures may give you clues!)
ONE FROM: Tins, air-tight bag/container (must specify air-tight), dry it, pickle it
Name___________________________
Date_________________
TEST BREAKDOWN / MICRO ORGANISMS (for teacher)
Objectives/related questions:
that scientific ideas about diseases are based on evidence
to consider the reasons for some common illnesses
5
12,13
that some micro-organisms can cause common illnesses 3,13
that micro-organisms are often too small to be seen
1
that micro-organisms can cause food to decay
10,15
that food needs to be handled and stored with care
2,3,13
that micro-organisms bring about decay
10
that decay can be beneficial
8
that micro-organisms which cause decay are living organisms 1
that micro-organisms feed and grow
1
to make suggestions about what yeast needs to grow
that micro-organisms are useful in food production
4
8