Ch.2 MICROORGANISMS FRIEND AND FOE

Ch.
2 MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE
Short Answer Questions
1. Name any two diseases caused by microorganism in plants and animals.
The following are the diseases caused by microorganisms in:
Plants: Citrus canker and rust of wheat.
Animals: Anthrax and foot and mouth disease.
2. Mention any two uses of algae.
(a) Algae are the main source of food for many animals.
(b) They are used as natural manures for plants.
3. List the different methods of food preservation.
The following are the different methods of food preservation: Dehydration and sun-drying, smoking,
heating, adding chemical preservatives, refrigeration, using oil and vinegar and using salt and sugar.
4. What are the different shapes in which bacterial cells are found and what are these known as?
The bacterial cell are found in the following different shapes:
(i) rod-shaped, which are called bacilli
(ii) spherical shaped, which are called cocci
(iii) spiral shaped, which are called spirilla
(iii) comma-shaped, which are known as vibrio.
5. What are the different methods by which fungi can reproduce?
Fungi reproduce by budding and spore formation. Yeast reproduces by budding. The bread mould
reproduces by spore formation.
6. How is food poisoning caused?
Food poisoning is caused due to the consumption of food spoilt by microorganisms. At the onset of
favourable conditions, microbes start growing on the food substance and release toxic chemicals
which spoil the food. Intake of these chemicals is harmful for the body.
7. List the advantages of food preservation
Advantages of food preservation:
(i) Reducing food wastage.
(ii) Availability of food supply especially when out of season at every place.
(iii) Increasing the storage period of foodstuff.
(iv) Making up for dietary inadequacies.
8. How can we prevent the following diseases?

(a) Cholera: By maintaining personal hygiene and good sanitation practices.
(b) Typhoid: Eating properly cooked food, drinking boiled water, getting vaccinated against the
disease.
(c) Hepatitis A: Drinking boiled water and getting vaccinated against the disease.
9. While returning from the school, Boojho ate chaat from a street hawker. When he reached
home he felt ill and complained of stomach ache. What could be the reason?
The probable reason could be that the chaat was contaminated by pathogenic microbes due to
unhygienic conditions near the shop or the utensil used for serving could have contaminated.
10. What will happen to 'pooris' and 'unused kneaded flour' if they are left in the open for a day?
The 'unused kneaded flour', if left in warm conditions, gets infected by microbes which cause
fermentation and spoil the flour. The pooris would remain in relatively good condition because they
were deep fried in heated oil that kills microbes.
11. (a) Name two diseases that are caused by virus.
(b) Write one important characteristic of virus.
(a) Polio/Chickenpox/Measles.
(b) Virus can reproduce only inside the cells of the host.
12. How do vaccines work?
Vaccines contain dead or weakened microbes of a particular disease. When a vaccine is introduced
into a healthy body, the body fights and kills them by producing suitable antibodies. These antibodies
remain in the body and protect it when the microbe enters the body again.
13. Why farmers prefer to grow beans and peas in nitrogen deficient soils?
Beans and peas are leguminous plants and have Rhizobium in their root nodules. These bacteria can
fix atmospheric nitrogen to enrich the soil with nitrogen and increase its fertility.
14. How mosquitoes can be controlled by preventing stagnation of water though they do not live
in water?
Though mosquitoes live on land, their larvae grow in water. If water stagnation is prevented the
larvae cannot survive.
Long Answer Questions-
1. Write the commercial use of microorganisms.
(a) Microorganism like yeast is widely used in the large scale production of alcohol, wine by the
process of fermentation.
(b) In agriculture industry, they are used to increase the soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen
with the help of bacterium Rhizobium.
(c) They play an important role in the preparation of medicine by producing chemicals called as
antibiotics which kill or stop the growth of disease-causing microorganisms( bacteria)
(d) They are used in the baking industry and also in production of curd.
(e) They also play a significant role in cleaning environment and in biological treatment of sewage
and industrial effluents.
2. Fresh milk is boiled before consumption while processed milk stored in packets can be
consumed without boiling. Why?
Fresh milk is boiled before consumption to kill the microorganisms in it. But packed milk is
pasteurised and does not contain any microorganism. It can thus be consumed without boiling.
3. Raw vegetables and fruits are kept in refrigerators whereas jams and pickles can be kept
outside. Why?
Raw vegetables and fruits get easily infected by microorganisms and get spoilt. They are kept in the
refrigerator as low temperature inhibits growth of microbes. Jams and pickles contain sugar and salt
as preservatives so they do not get infected by microbes easily.
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
1. The dough of cake containing flour and yeast rises after sometime. Explain why.
The yeast in the dough releases carbon dioxide by the process of fermentation. This gas causes the
dough to rise.
2. Why does curd set and turn sour faster in summer than in winter?
In summers the temperature is optimum for the multiplication of Lactobacillus bacteria than in
winters. Under these favorable conditions, the bacteria multiplies very fast and produces more lactic
acid which converts milk into curd.
3. Why does curd set in warm milk but not in hot milk or cold milk?
Warm milk provides favorable condition for the growth of bacteria than hot or cold milk which
hinders the growth of bacteria required for formation of curd.
4. Why are packets of chips sealed with nitrogen and not air?
Nitrogen being an inert gas does not itself react with the food. So the chips when sealed with
nitrogen gas can be prevented from getting spoiled.
5.Why should one always wash hands before eating?
Our hands are the carriers of many microbial infectious diseases that may spread into our body
while eating. To keep ourselves protected from these diseases we must wash our hands before
eating.
6. Why should water coolers be emptied frequently during rainy season?
6. Rainy season and stagnant water leads to the growth of larvae of mosquitoes that may cause
water-borne diseases like malaria, typhoid and cholera, so it is necessary to empty water coolers
frequently during the rainy season.

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Ch.

2 MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE

Short Answer Questions

1. Name any two diseases caused by microorganism in plants and animals.

The following are the diseases caused by microorganisms in:

Plants: Citrus canker and rust of wheat.

Animals: Anthrax and foot and mouth disease.

2. Mention any two uses of algae.

(b) They are used as natural manures for plants.

3. List the different methods of food preservation.

The bacterial cell are found in the following different shapes:

(i) rod-shaped, which are called bacilli

(ii) spherical shaped, which are called cocci

(iii) spiral shaped, which are called spirilla

(iii) comma-shaped, which are known as vibrio.

5. What are the different methods by which fungi can reproduce?

reproduces by spore formation.

6. How is food poisoning caused?

7. List the advantages of food preservation

Advantages of food preservation:

(i) Reducing food wastage.

(iii) Increasing the storage period of foodstuff.

(iv) Making up for dietary inadequacies.

8. How can we prevent the following diseases?

11. (a) Name two diseases that are caused by virus.

(b) Write one important characteristic of virus.

12. How do vaccines work?

Long Answer Questions-

1. Write the commercial use of microorganisms.

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

5.Why should one always wash hands before eating?

6. Why should water coolers be emptied frequently during rainy season?

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