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Microorganisms:Friend or Foes
A. Fill in the blanks.
1. The study of microorganisms is known as microbiology.
2. The bread dough rises because of the production of carbon dioxide .
3. pathogens are the microorganisms that cause diseases.
4. sodium benzoate and potassium metabisulphite are two chemical preservatives.
5. Aspergillus is a fungus that causes food poisoning.
B. Match the following.
Answer: (1) c, (2) a, (3) d (4) e (5) b
C. Tick the correct option.
1. The process, that helps milk to last longer but does not kill all microbes present in it, is known as-
Answer: pasteurisation
2. Rust of wheat is caused by-
Answer: fungus
3. Medicines, containing killed or weakened pathogens, and used to prevent infectious diseases, are called-
Answer: vaccines
4. Which of the following reproduces only inside a host cell?
Answer: virus
5. A disease, caused by a virus, and spread by an insect, is-
Answer: dengue
D. Answer the following questions in brief.
1. Why are viruses considered as being at the ‘borderline’ between living and non-living things?
Answer: A virus behaves like a non-living when it is outside a host cell. Once a virus enters a host cell, it starts to behave like a living being. Due to this, viruses are considered as the borderline between living and non-living.
2. What is fermentation? How is this process useful in the food and beverage industries?
Answer: An anaerobic process through which sugars/carbohydrates are converted into alcohol or acids and carbon dioxide by microorganisms is called fermentation.
Fermentation is useful in the food and beverages industries in various ways:
- It helps in making tasty dosa.
- It helps in making bread and cake.
- It helps in making wine
3. In the absence of microorganisms the earth would become a heap of dead plants and animals. Justify this statement.
Answer: When a plant or animal dies, its remains are decomposed by microorganisms. Decomposition is the process through which all constituent materials of a living being are sent back to the environment. Had there been no microorganisms, dead remains of plants and animals would be keeping on accumulating all around us. So, it can be said that in the absence of microorganisms the earth would become a heap of dead plants and animals.
4. Munna observes that the yield of wheat, growing in his field, has reduced in the current year. He gets the soil tested and the report confirms the deficiency of one particular nutrient. Accordingly, he is advised to grow peas after harvesting wheat.
(i) Name the nutrient found insufficient.
Answer: Nitrogen
(ii) How do you think growing peas will help in replenishing the soil?
Answer: Pea plants give shelter to Rhizobium bacteria. These bacteria carry out nitrogen fixation in soil. Thus, pea plants help in replenishing nitrogen in soil.
5. Why does it take less time to prepare curd in summers as compared to preparing it in winters?
Answer: Microorganisms reproduce at a faster rate between 20 to 40°C. They reproduce at a much slower rate when temperature is below this range. Milk is converted into curd by multiplication of lactobacillus. This is why it takes less time to prepare curd in summers as compared to preparing it in winters.
6. How are the following diseases transmitted:
Answer: (b) Through cough droplets in air.
Answer: (a) By female Anopheles mosquito.
Answer: (b) Through cough droplets in air.
Answer: (c) Through cut by a rusted iron article.
Answer: (d) Through contaminated food and water.
7. What are antibiotics? How are they produced? Give two examples of these.
Answer: Antibiotics are chemicals that inhibit the growth of (other) harmful microorganisms by affecting their life processes. Antibiotics are prepared from microorganisms. Two examples are Penicillin and Streptomycin.
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