2021-22
Class: VIII
Subject: Science
Chapter 2: Microorganisms : Friend and Foe
Multiple Choice Questions Page-22
1. (a) 2. (d)
Multiple Choice Questions Page-26
1. (c) 2. (a)
EXERCISE
A. Tick (3) the correct options.
1. (d) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (c) 6. (b) 7. (b)
B. Look at the figure given alongside and tick (3) the correct options.
1. (b) 2. (c)
C. Fill in the blanks.
1. multicellular
2. Lactobacillus
3. pathogens
4. Nitrosomonas
5. acidic
6. water
7. Pseudomonas
8. Preservation
D. Very Short Answer Questions.
1. Name any two antibiotics.
1. Streptomycin and tetracycline
2. Give the names of any two communicable diseases.
2. Common cold and chickenpox
3. Name any two common diseases each that occur in plants and animals.
3. In plants-A. Rust (Wheat), Blight (Rice)
B. Anthrax, Tuberculosis (Cattle)
4. Name two microbial diseases that spread through air.
4. Common cold and tuberculosis
5. What are micro-organisms?
5. The organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye and can only be observed through
microscope are called microorganisms or microbes.
6. Name any disease caused by virus in humans.
6. Polio
E. Short Answer Type-I Questions.
1. What is pasteurization?
1. Pasteurization is a process for preservation of milk. In this process, milk is heated at about 70°C
for 15 to 30 seconds to kill the bacteria present in it and is cooled quickly to 10°C to prevent the
remaining bacteria from growing.
2. How do leguminous plats increase the soil fertility?
2. Leguminous plants contain Rhizobium bacteria in their root nodules which absorb nitrogen from
the atmosphere and convert it into nitrates. When roots are decomposed these nitrates mix with
the soil and increase the soil fertility.
3. What is meant by nitrifying bacteria?
3. Nitrifying bacteria are those bacteria which convert nitrites into nitrates. Nitrobacter is a
nitrifying bacterium.
4. How does female anopheles mosquito spread malaria?
4. The female Anopheles mosquito sucks the blood of human beings and transmits Plasmodium
into their blood. This Plasmodium causes malaria.
5. How do antibiotics work?
5. Antibiotics not only prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms but also destroy them
in our body.
Short Answer Type-II Questions.
1. (a) How do viruses differ from other microorganisms?
(b) What is meant by fermentation?
1. (a) Viruses are different from other microorganisms because they have both the characteristics of
living and non-living things. They contain a small nuclear material wrapped in a protein coat. They
cannot grow and reproduce on their own. This indicates that they are nonliving. When they enter in
a living cell they reproduce. The viruses spread and invade the other cells.
(b) The process of conversion of sugar into alcohol by the action of microbes like yeast is called
fermentation. Louis Pasteur discovered the process of fermentation.
2. What are communicable diseases? Name any two diseases each caused by viruses and bacteria.
2.Diseases that can be spread by an infected person to a healthy person are called communicable
diseases. disease spread by viruses- smallpox and polio, and diseases spread by bacteria -
Tuberculosis and cholera.
3. What is vaccine? How does it work?
3. A small dose of dead and weakened disease-causing microbes used to stimulate immune
response in the body is called vaccine. When a vaccine is introduced in the body of a healthy
person, it acts like an antigen. The body of the person produces antibodies against these introduced
microbes. These antibodies remain in the body to protect the person against future infections of the
same microbe.
4. Microorganisms decompose dead organic waste of plants and animals and help in keeping the
environment clean.
(a) What would happen, if microorganisms do not perform this function?
(b) Being a student, How can you contribute in keeping the environment clean? Give two ways.
4. (a) If microorganisms do not decompose dead organic waste of plants and animals, the piles of
dead organisms would have covered the earth.
(b) (i) We should reduce the use of non-biodegradable things.
(ii) We should throw our kitchen wastes into the soil, where these can be decomposed by the action
of microorganisms.
G. Long Answer Questions.
1. Explain two methods of food preservation. Also, discuss the advantages of food preservation.
1. (i) Preservation by common salt: Meat and fish are covered with dry common salt. Salting draws
out water (moisture) from the food. Thus, prevents microbial growth and reproduction. Salting is
also used to preserve amla, raw mangoes, tamarind, etc.
(ii) Chemical method: Food can be preserved by using certain chemical substances. Such chemical
substances are called food preservatives. Most chemical preservatives remove oxygen from the
food items. This helps in preventing microbial growth. Sodium benzoate, citric acid and potassium
metabisulphite are common food preservatives.
Advantages of food preservation
(a) It decreases wastage of food by avoiding spoilage.
(b) It increases the storage period of food materials.
(c) Nutritional value of the food is retained for a longer period.
(d) It ensures food availability at distant places and during off-seasons.
2. Draw a neat diagram to show nitrogen cycle and explain the process of nitrification and
denitrification.
2. Nitrogen cycle Nitrification: Ammonium salt in soil is converted first into nitrites by Nitrosomonas
bacteria. The nitrites are then converted into nitrates by Nitrobacter bacteria. The nitrates so
formed in the soil can once again be absorbed by the plants. This process is called nitrification.
Denitrification: Some of the nitrates are absorbed by plants. Rest of the nitrates in the soil are
converted by Pseudomonas bacteria into nitrogen gas when escapes into the atmosphere. The
conversion of nitrates into free nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria is called Denitrification.
3. Describe the principle on which the following methods of food preservation are based-
(a) boiling (b) canning (c) freezing (d) dehydration
3. (a) Boiling – heating effect
(b) Canning – air-free packing
(c) Freezing – low temperature treatment
(d) Dehydration – removal of moisture
H. HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)
Questions.1 why do we say that if a person suffers from chickenpox once, he/she is not likely to
be attacked by the same diseases in future?
1. The person who suffered from chickenpox once, gets immunized naturally for that disease. The
antibodies formed at the time of disease, immunize the person for any future attack by the
same disease.
2. Why should we always wash our hands before handling food items?
3. We should always wash our hands before handling food items because our hands may have
germs that may infect the food items. The intake of these infected food items may cause
various diseases.
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