QR Challenge: Vocabulary in Microbiology (A-M)

Created using the ClassTools QR Treasure Hunt Generator

Teacher Notes

A. Prior to the lesson:

1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.

2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to

• Download a QR reader (e.g. I-Nigma | NeoReader | Kaywa) onto their mobile devices
• Bring these devices into the lesson.

3. Print out the QR codes.

4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.

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B. The lesson:

1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.

2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.

3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!

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C. TIPS / OTHER IDEAS

4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.

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Questions / Answers (teacher reference)

Question	Answer
1. A staining procedure that differentiates between bacteria based on their ability to retain a dye when washed with an acid alcohol solution.	acid-fast staining
2. Refers to the type of specific immunity that develops after exposure to a suitable antigen or is produced after antibodies are transferred from one individual to another.	acquired immunity
3. An organism that grows in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.	aerobe
4. Microorganisms that grow equally well whether or not oxygen is present.	aerotolerant anaerobes
5. A complex sulfated polysaccharide, usually extracted from red algae, that is used as a solidifying agent in the preparation of culture media.	agar
6. The formation of an insoluble immune complex by the cross-linking of cells or particles.	agglutination reaction
7. The type of infectious organism transmission in which the pathogen is truly suspended in the air and travels over a meter or more from the source to the host.	airborne transmission
8. A greenish zone of partial clearing around a bacterial colony growing on blood agar.	alpha hemolysis
9. A cell with a single flagellum at each end.	amphitrichous
10. An antibiotic from a strain of Streptomyces nodosus that is used to treat systemic fungal infections; it also is used topically to treat candidiasis.	amphotericin B
11. An organism that grows in the absence of free oxygen.	anaerobe
12. An immediate (type I) hypersensitivity reaction following exposure of a sensitized individual to the appropriate antigen. Mediated by reagin antibodies, chiefly IgE.	anaphylaxis
13. Without oxygen present.	anoxic
14. A microbial product or its derivative that kills susceptible microorganisms or inhibits their growth.	antibiotic
15. An apparatus for sterilizing objects by the use of steam under pressure. Its development tremendously stimulated the growth of microbiology.	autoclave
16. An organism that uses CO2 as its sole or principal source of carbon.	autotroph
17. A mutated prototroph that lacks the ability to synthesize an essential nutrient and therefore must obtain it or a precursor from its surroundings.	auxotroph
18. The organ of motility in spirochetes.	axial filament
19. The presence of viable bacteria in the blood.	bacteremia
20. A protein produced by a bacterial strain that kills other closely related strains.	bacteriocin
21. A virus that uses bacteria as its host; often called a phage.	bacteriophage
22. Inhibiting the growth and reproduction of bacteria.	bacteriostatic
23. A phagocytic leukocyte whose granules stain bluish-black with a basic dye. It has a segmented nucleus. The granules contain histamine and heparin.	basophil
24. A zone of complete clearing around a bacterial colony growing on blood agar.	beta hemolysis
25. Asexual reproduction in which a cell or an organism separates into two cells.	binary fission
26. Organized microbial systems consisting of layers of microbial cells associated with surfaces, often with complex structural and functional characteristics.	biofilms
27. The use of biologically mediated processes to remove or degrade pollutants from specific environments.	bioremediation
28. The coupling of a biological process with production of an electrical signal or light to detect the presence of particular substances.	biosensor
29. An acute infectious enteritis, endemic and epidemic in Asia, which periodically spreading to the Middle East, Africa, Southern Europe, and South America; caused by Vibrio cholerae.	cholera
30. An enzyme that induces blood clotting; it is characteristically produced by pathogenic staphylococci.	coagulase
31. A gram-negative, nonsporing, facultative rod that ferments lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35°C.	coliform
32. Living on or within another organism without injuring or benefiting the other organism.	commensal
33. A bacterial cell that can take up free DNA fragments and incorporate them into its genome during transformation.	competent
34. A DNA copy of an RNA molecule.	complementary DNA (cDNA)
35. A host with lowered resistance to infection and disease for any of several reasons.	compromised host
36. The form of gene transfer and recombination in bacteria that requires direct cell-to-cell contact.	conjugation
37. Culture medium made with components of known composition.	defined medium
38. A treelike diagram that is used to graphically summarize mutual similarities and relationships between organisms.	dendrogram
39. The reduction of nitrate to gas products, primarily nitrogen gas, during anaerobic respiration.	denitrification
40. A thin film on the surface of teeth consisting of bacteria embedded in a matrix of bacterial polysaccharides, salivary glycoproteins, and other substances.	dental plaque
41. To make a sensitized or hypersensitive individual insensitive or nonreactive to a sensitizing agent.	desensitization
42. A pair of cocci.	diplococcus
43. An enzyme that joins two DNA fragments together through the formation of a new phosphodiester bond.	DNA ligase
44. An enzyme that synthesizes new DNA using a parental DNA strand as a template.	DNA polymerase
45. The process in which a cell takes up solutes or particles by enclosing them in vesicles pinched off from its plasma membrane.	endocytosis
46. An extremely heat- and chemical-resistant, dormant, thick-walled spore that develops within bacteria.	endospore
47. An organism that lives within the body of another organism in a symbiotic association.	endosymbiont
48. The heat-stable lipopolysaccharide in the outer membrane of the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria that is released when the bacterium lyses, or sometimes during growth, and is toxic to the host.	endotoxin
49. An acute inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, characterized by anorexia, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weakness.	gastroenteritis
50. Inflammation of the stomach.	gastritis
51. The time required for a microbial population to double in number.	generation time
52. A network of polysaccharides extending from the surface of bacteria and other cells.	glycocalyx
53. An individual who harbors a pathogen, but is not ill.	healthy carrier
54. A kidney disease characterized by blood in the urine and often by kidney failure. It is caused by enterohemorrhagic strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7 that produce a Shiga-like toxin, which attacks the kidneys.	hemolytic uremic syndrome
55. The body of an organism that harbors another organism.	host
56. Granules of organic or inorganic material lying in the cytoplasmic matrix of bacteria.	inclusion bodies
57. The period after pathogen entry into a host and before signs and symptoms appear.	incubation period
58. The dose or number of organisms that will infect 50% of an experimental group of hosts within a specified time period.	infectious dose 50 (ID50)
59. A localized protective response to tissue injury or destruction.	inflammation
60. Molecules that can be inserted between the stacked bases of a DNA double helix, thereby distorting the DNA and inducing insertion and deletion mutations.	intercalating agents
61. The ability of a microorganism to enter a host, grow and reproduce within the host, and spread throughout its body.	invasiveness
62. A set of rules for proving that a microorganism causes a particular disease.	Koch's postulates
63. A period following the introduction of microorganisms into fresh culture medium when there is no increase in cell numbers or mass during batch culture.	lag phase
64. The dose or number of organisms that will kill 50% of an experimental group of hosts within a specified time period.	lethal dose 50 (LD50)
65. A cell with a cluster of flagella at one or both ends.	lophotrichous
66. Virus life cycle that results in the lysis of the host cell.	lytic cycle

 

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