Concept Questions

Take some time to write answers to these questions. If you can answer them, you have a good grasp of the material!

1. Differentiate between micronutrients and macronutrients.

2. Briefly describe the general function of the bioelements CHNOPS in the cell. Define growth factors, and give examples of them.

3. Name some functions of metallic ions in cells.

4. Compare autotrophs and heterotrophs with respect to the form of carbon-based nutrients they require.

5. Describe the nutritional strategy of two types of chemoautotrophs (lithotrophs) in the chapter.

6. Briefly fill in the following table:

	Source of Carbon	Usual Source of Energy	Example
Photoautotroph
Photoheterotroph
Chemoautotroph
Chemoheterotroph
Saprobe
Parasite

7. Compare the effects of isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic solutions on an ameba and on a bacterial cell. If a cell is in a hypotonic environment, what is the condition of its cytoplasm relative to the environment?

8. Why are most pathogens mesophilic?

9. What are the ecological roles of psychrophiles and thermophiles?

10. What is the natural habitat of a facultative parasite? of strict saprobe?

11. Name three groups of obligate intracellular parasites.

12. Classify a human with respect to oxygen requirements.

13. What might be the habitat of an aerotolerant anaerobe? Where in the body are anaerobic habitats apt to be found?

14. Where do superoxide ions and hydrogen peroxide originate?

15. Define symbiosis and differentiate among mutualism, commensalism, synergism, parasitism, and antagonism, using examples. How are parasitism and antagonism similar and different? Are any of these relationships obligatory?

16. Explain the relationship between colony counts and colony-forming units. Why can one use the number of colonies as an index of population size?

17. Why is growth called exponential? What makes it a geometric progression?

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