Name: __________________________________
Characteristics of Organisms, Bacteria, Viruses Study Guide
Complete as much as you can without using your book or notes, then you know what to study! Go back through and fill
in what you need to.
Key Terms:
1. Organism: ___________________________________________________________________________________
2. Prokaryote: _________________________________________________________________________________
3. Eukaryote: __________________________________________________________________________________
4. Unicellular: __________________________________________________________________________________
5. Multicellular: ________________________________________________________________________________
6. Stimulus: ___________________________________________________________________________________
7. Response: ___________________________________________________________________________________
8. Autotroph: __________________________________________________________________________________
9. Heterotroph: ________________________________________________________________________________
10. Homeostasis: ________________________________________________________________________________
11. Host: _______________________________________________________________________________________
12. Parasite: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Characteristics of Living Things:
1. The idea that life could spring from nonliving matter is called:
a. Development
c. Homeostasis
b. Spontaneous generation
d. Evolution
2. Which organisms have cells without nuclei?
a. Protists
c. Plants
b. Archaea
d. Fungi
3. Organisms that are autotrophs are classified in which of the following domains?
a. Bacteria
c. Eukarya
b. Archaea
d. All of the above
4. Name 5 characteristics all living things share. Then describe each characteristic or give an example.
a. _______________________________________ : _____________________________________
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b. _______________________________________ : _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________ : _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
d. _______________________________________ : _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
e. _______________________________________ : _____________________________________
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5. Describe how your pet, or a friend’s pet, meets its needs as a living thing.
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6. How do you know that a robot is not alive?
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7. The arctic fox has thick, dense fur in the winter and much shorter fur in the summer. How does this
help the fox maintain homeostasis?
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Bacteria and Viruses:
1. Most bacteria are surrounded by a rigid protective structure called the:
a. Cell wall
c. Protein coat
b. Cell membrane
d. Flagellum
2. If an organism is a prokaryote, you know that:
a. Its cells do not contain a nucleus
b. Its cells do not contain ribosomes
c. The organism is a heterotroph
d. The organism cannot move on its
own
3. Paola grew a new culture of bacteria and measured the population’s growth over time. The number of
bacteria increased sharply over the first few hours but then tapered off. Which of the following
statements about these observations is true?
a. The initial conditions for bacterial
c. After a period of time, the bacteria
growth were favorable
started to run out of food, space,
b. The number of bacteria increased as
and other resources
the bacteria reproduced asexually
d. All of the above.
4. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack and destroy
a. Other viruses
b. Plants
c. Bacteria
d. Humans
5. Which part of a virus determines which host cells it can infect?
a. Nucleus
c. Flagellum
b. Ribosomes
d. Surface proteins
6. Viruses multiply
a. By conjugation
b. By binary fission
c. By taking over a cell’s functions
d. Both asexually and sexually
7. Which of the following help prevent the spread of infections?
a. Toxins
c. Parasites
b. Vaccines
d. Endospores
8. Which of the statements about the sizes of bacteria and viruses is true?
a. Viruses can be seen with a hand lens
c. Bacteria can be seen with a light
but bacteria cannot
microscope but viruses cannot
b. Both bacteria and viruses can be
d. Neither bacteria nor viruses can be
seen with a hand lens
seen with a light microscope
9. Which of the statements about viruses is not true?
a. Viruses can multiply only inside a
living cell
b. Viruses have genetic material
c. Virus particles are smaller than
bacterial cells
d. Diseases caused by viruses can be
cured by antibiotics
10. Compare and contrast viruses and bacteria with respect to sizes, structures, and reproductive methods
Bacteria
Viruses
Size
Structures
Reproduction
11. What is the role of each of the following structures in a bacterial cell:
Structure
Role (job)
Cell wall
Determines what goes into and out of the cell
Ribosomes
Whip-like structure used for movement
12. What are 3 ways bacteria obtain food?
a. ___________________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________________
13. What is binary fission? _________________________________________________________________
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14. When do bacteria use binary fission? _____________________________________________________
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15. Why might bacteria that undergo conjugation be better able to survive when conditions become less
than ideal? __________________________________________________________________________
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16. A friend states that all bacteria are harmful to people. List 3 reasons why this statement is inaccurate.
a. ______________________________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________________________
17. How are viruses similar to organisms? How are they different?
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18. Trace the steps by which an active virus multiplies, from when it first enters a host cell to when the
host cell bursts open.
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