Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Microbiology

Critical Thinking

MicrobiologyCritical Thinking
Search for key terms or text.

Critical Thinking

40.

What would the results of Pasteur’s swan-neck flask experiment have looked like if they supported the theory of spontaneous generation?

41.

Why are mitochondria and chloroplasts unable to multiply outside of a host cell?

42.

Why was the work of Snow so important in supporting the germ theory?

43.

Which of the following slides is a good example of staphylococci?

Figure 3.58 (credit a: modification of work by U.S. Department of Agriculture; credit b: modification of work by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; credit c: modification of work by NIAID)
44.

Provide some examples of bacterial structures that might be used as antibiotic targets and explain why.

45.

The causative agent of botulism, a deadly form of food poisoning, is an endospore-forming bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. Why might it be difficult to kill this bacterium in contaminated food?

46.

Label the lettered parts of this eukaryotic cell.

47.

How are peroxisomes more like mitochondria than like the membrane-bound organelles of the endomembrane system? How do they differ from mitochondria?

48.

Why must the functions of both lysosomes and peroxisomes be compartmentalized?

PreviousNext
Order a print copy

Content Warning

You’ll need to log in with your free OpenStax account to keep reading — your access is still 100% free. Need an account? Create one here! Log in
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

© Jan 12, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.