Q.1 Who is considered the 'Father of Microbiology'?
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Joseph Lister
Explanation - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is considered the 'Father of Microbiology' because he was the first to observe and describe microorganisms using his handcrafted microscopes.
Correct answer is: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Q.2 Which scientist is known for developing pure culture techniques?
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
John Snow
Edward Jenner
Explanation - Robert Koch developed pure culture techniques, which allowed for the isolation and study of specific microorganisms.
Correct answer is: Robert Koch
Q.3 What was Louis Pasteur’s major contribution to microbiology?
Discovery of penicillin
Development of vaccines and germ theory
First observation of microbes
Invention of antibiotics
Explanation - Louis Pasteur developed vaccines for diseases like rabies and anthrax and proposed the germ theory of disease, revolutionizing microbiology and medicine.
Correct answer is: Development of vaccines and germ theory
Q.4 Which invention by Leeuwenhoek was critical to microbiology?
Petri dish
Handmade microscope
Agar plates
Gram stain
Explanation - Leeuwenhoek crafted simple microscopes with superior lenses that allowed him to visualize microorganisms for the first time.
Correct answer is: Handmade microscope
Q.5 Who discovered penicillin in 1928?
Alexander Fleming
Joseph Lister
Paul Ehrlich
Robert Koch
Explanation - Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he noticed that Penicillium mold inhibited bacterial growth, leading to the antibiotic revolution.
Correct answer is: Alexander Fleming
Q.6 Which scientist disproved the theory of spontaneous generation?
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
Aristotle
Joseph Lister
Explanation - Louis Pasteur’s swan-neck flask experiments demonstrated that microorganisms come from other microorganisms, not spontaneous generation.
Correct answer is: Louis Pasteur
Q.7 Robert Koch is known for identifying the causative agents of which diseases?
Cholera, Tuberculosis, Anthrax
Smallpox, Measles, Rabies
Malaria, Syphilis, HIV
Polio, Influenza, Ebola
Explanation - Koch identified Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Vibrio cholerae as causative agents of these diseases.
Correct answer is: Cholera, Tuberculosis, Anthrax
Q.8 Who introduced antiseptic techniques in surgery?
Joseph Lister
Louis Pasteur
Ignaz Semmelweis
Edward Jenner
Explanation - Joseph Lister applied antiseptic methods using carbolic acid, drastically reducing surgical infections.
Correct answer is: Joseph Lister
Q.9 Edward Jenner is famous for which discovery?
Penicillin
Smallpox vaccination
Germ theory
Tuberculosis bacteria
Explanation - Edward Jenner developed the first successful vaccine by using cowpox to protect against smallpox.
Correct answer is: Smallpox vaccination
Q.10 What did John Snow contribute to microbiology?
Discovery of antibiotics
Epidemiology of cholera
First vaccine
Disproving spontaneous generation
Explanation - John Snow traced cholera outbreaks to contaminated water, laying foundations for epidemiology.
Correct answer is: Epidemiology of cholera
Q.11 What is Koch’s postulates used for?
Testing vaccine safety
Determining causative agents of diseases
Growing bacteria in lab
Disproving miasma theory
Explanation - Koch’s postulates provide criteria to establish that a microorganism causes a specific disease.
Correct answer is: Determining causative agents of diseases
Q.12 What discovery earned Robert Koch the Nobel Prize in 1905?
Anthrax bacteria
Cholera bacteria
Tuberculosis bacteria
Rabies vaccine
Explanation - Koch received the Nobel Prize for discovering Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium causing tuberculosis.
Correct answer is: Tuberculosis bacteria
Q.13 Who introduced the Petri dish for culturing microbes?
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
Julius Richard Petri
Alexander Fleming
Explanation - Julius Richard Petri, an assistant of Koch, developed the Petri dish, which became a standard tool in microbiology.
Correct answer is: Julius Richard Petri
Q.14 Who is regarded as the founder of modern bacteriology along with Pasteur?
Edward Jenner
Robert Koch
John Snow
Joseph Lister
Explanation - Robert Koch, with Pasteur, is considered a founder of modern bacteriology for his work on disease-causing microbes.
Correct answer is: Robert Koch
Q.15 What was Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s profession before becoming known for microbiology?
Physician
Tailor
Merchant and lens maker
Chemist
Explanation - Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch cloth merchant and lens maker who built microscopes as a hobby, leading to his discoveries.
Correct answer is: Merchant and lens maker
Q.16 Which theory did Louis Pasteur help disprove?
Cell theory
Miasma theory
Spontaneous generation
Evolution theory
Explanation - Pasteur’s experiments demonstrated that life does not arise spontaneously, but from existing microorganisms.
Correct answer is: Spontaneous generation
Q.17 What was the first disease proven to be caused by a microorganism?
Tuberculosis
Anthrax
Cholera
Smallpox
Explanation - Robert Koch proved Bacillus anthracis caused anthrax, the first disease linked directly to a microorganism.
Correct answer is: Anthrax
Q.18 Who introduced the concept of 'magic bullet' in microbiology?
Alexander Fleming
Paul Ehrlich
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
Explanation - Paul Ehrlich introduced the concept of a 'magic bullet'—a drug that selectively targets pathogens without harming the host.
Correct answer is: Paul Ehrlich
Q.19 What was Ignaz Semmelweis known for promoting?
Handwashing in medical practice
Pasteurization
Antibiotics
Vaccines
Explanation - Semmelweis demonstrated that handwashing with antiseptic solution reduced childbed fever in hospitals.
Correct answer is: Handwashing in medical practice
Q.20 Which disease did Pasteur create the first laboratory vaccine for?
Smallpox
Rabies
Tuberculosis
Polio
Explanation - Pasteur created the first lab-developed vaccine against rabies in 1885, saving a young boy bitten by a rabid dog.
Correct answer is: Rabies
Q.21 Who discovered the cause of cholera?
Louis Pasteur
John Snow
Robert Koch
Joseph Lister
Explanation - Koch discovered Vibrio cholerae as the bacterium responsible for cholera in 1883.
Correct answer is: Robert Koch
Q.22 Which scientist developed Gram staining?
Robert Koch
Christian Gram
Louis Pasteur
Hans Krebs
Explanation - Christian Gram developed Gram staining in 1884, a key technique to differentiate bacteria into Gram-positive and Gram-negative.
Correct answer is: Christian Gram
Q.23 What contribution did Dmitri Ivanovsky make to microbiology?
Discovered viruses
Discovered antibiotics
Invented microscope
Developed vaccines
Explanation - Ivanovsky discovered that infectious agents of tobacco mosaic disease passed through filters that trapped bacteria, leading to the discovery of viruses.
Correct answer is: Discovered viruses
Q.24 Who developed the first microscope powerful enough to see bacteria?
Robert Hooke
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Louis Pasteur
Joseph Lister
Explanation - Leeuwenhoek’s handmade microscopes were powerful enough to observe bacteria and protozoa for the first time.
Correct answer is: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Q.25 What was the primary focus of early microbiologists?
Studying genetics
Observing microorganisms
Developing antibiotics
Performing surgery
Explanation - Early microbiologists like Leeuwenhoek focused on observing microorganisms, as laboratory methods were not yet advanced.
Correct answer is: Observing microorganisms