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What makes us sick? Study Guide Answers
(words in italics inside parentheses indicate the page in your notebook where you can find the answer)
1. What do antibiotics do to help us when our own immune systems get overwhelmed? (What do
antibiotics kill?) (antibiotic resistance)
Antibiotics kill bacteria (both good and bad)
2. A change or error in DNA is known a __ mutation___. (antibiotic resistance)
3. Describe the process of antibiotic resistance beginning with infection of the human with “bad”
bacteria. Be sure to include the following vocabulary words in your response. (antibiotic resistance)
 Bacteria
 Antibiotics
 Mutation
 Resistance
 Competition
 Resources
 Weaker
 Stronger
First we start of with good bacteria only. Then we have bad bacteria that makes you sick. So the doctor
gives you antibiotics which kill the weaker bad bacteria. The stronger bad bacteria have a mutation, or
change in their DNA, which means the antibiotics will not be as effective (won’t kill the stronger bacteria
as easily). Since all of the weaker bacteria and even some of the good bacteria are killed by the
antibiotics, the competition for the stronger bad bacteria had been eliminated. This leaves all of the
resources for the strongest bad bacteria such as food and space. In the end, only the stronger bacteria
will survive and reproduce. These strongest bad bacteria scientists say have “antibiotic resistance”
because the medicine does not work as well on them.
4. What does it mean when we say that a virus uses a human’s cells as a “host”? (bacteria vs virus)
It means that the virus invades the cell, injects its DNA, and uses the cell’s parts to multiply itself (like
using a cell as a factory to make more viruses)
5. Antibiotics are only effective against what type of microbe? (bacteria vs virus)
Antibiotics only kill bacteria, they cannot kill viruses or cancer cells
6. What are three ways you can prevent the spread of infections by microbes? (bacteria vs virus)
Good Hygiene, cover mouth/nose when coughing/sneezing, wash hands, disinfect wounds, etc.
7. What are 3 differences between bacteria and viruses (venn diagram)
Bacteria are living, unicellular, reproduce asexually, and can be killed by antibiotics
Viruses are nonliving, are not made of cells, cannot reproduce on their own, and are not affected by
antibiotics
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8. What happens during the G1 Phase of a cell’s life? (cell cycle notes)
The cell grows larger
9. What happens during the S Phase of a cell’s life? (cell cycle notes)
The cell’s DNA is replicated (copied)
10. What happens during G2 Phase of a cell’s life? (cell cycle notes)
The DNA is checked for errors and if there are errors, they are repaired
11. What is cell division known as? (cell cycle notes)
Mitosis
12. What three phases of the cell cycle are together considered interphase, during which the cell is
forming and carries on with its normal functions? (cell cycle worksheet)
G1, S, and G2 (all phases besides mitosis/cell division)
13. What is metastasis? (what is cancer?)
Spread of a tumor or mass of cancer cells from one part of the body to another
14. What is the difference between a benign and a malignant tumor? (what is cancer?)
Benign tumors will not metastasize/spread whereas malignant tumor cells do metastasize and spread
15. How do we treat benign tumors? Why? (cancer treatments)
Benign tumors can be removed surgically since they do not spread to other areas of the body
16. How do we treat malignant tumors? Why? (cancer treatments)
Malignant tumors are treated with high energy radiation or chemotherapy because these types of
tumors will spread to different areas of the body
17. What is a possible side effect of chemotherapy? Why are these cells “accidentally” killed by the
chemotherapy? (cancer treatments)
Chemotherapy targets any cells that divide quickly. Since hair cells divide quickly, the chemotherapy
medication may mistake those hair cells for cancer cells and “accidentally” destroy them