300+ TOP Physical & Chemical Agents MCQs and Answers

PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL AGENTS Multiple Choice Questions :-

1. Which of the following articles can be sterilized in an autoclave?

A. Gloves
B. Culture media
C. Dressing material
D. All of these

Answer: D

2. Which of the following disinfectants act by disrupting microbial membranes?

A. Cationic detergents
B. Halogens
C. Heavy metals
D. Aldehydes

Answer: A

3. Which of the following is best to sterilize heat labile solutions?

A. Dry heat
B. Autoclave
C. Membrane filtration
D. Pasteurization

Answer: C

4. The time required to kill 90% of the microorganisms in a sample at a specific temperature is the

A. decimal reduction time
B. thermal death point
C. F value
D. D value

Answer: D

5. Which of the following is best used for long term storage of microbial samples when carried out properly?

A. Storage in a freezer at -10°C
B. Storage in a freezer at ultra low temperatures (-70°C)
C. Storage in a refrigerator on an agar slant
D. Storage on a petri plate at room temperature

Answer: B

6. Which of the following is not a disinfectant containing a heavy metal?

A. Silver nitrate
B. Mercurochrome
C. Copper sulfate
D. Chlorine

Answer: D

7. Which is the most important surface active disinfectants?

A. Amphoteric compounds
B. Cationic compounds
C. Non-ionic compounds
D. Anionic compounds

Answer: B

8. Which disinfectant would be most effective against Staphylococcus found in a blood spill?

A. Phenol
B. Cetylpyridinium chloride
C. Hexachlorophene
D. None of these

Answer: D

9. Which of the following substances can sterilize?

A. Alcohol
B. Cetylpyridinium chloride
C. Ethylene oxide
D. Chlorine

Answer: C

10. Milk is pasteurized in batch method by keeping it at

A. 63°C for 30 minutes
B. 72°C for 60 seconds
C. 73°C for 30 minutes
D. 72°C for 6 minutes

Answer: A

PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL AGENTS Objective Questions
PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL AGENTS MCQs

11. Preservation of foods by using salts and sugars works by

A. raising pH
B. lowering osmotic pressure
C. creating a hypertonic environment
D. creating a hypotonic environment

Answer: C

12. Which of the following items could be sterilized by dry heat sterilization?

A. Intravenous (IV) solution
B. Plastic IV bags
C. Glass pipettes
D. rubber gloves

Answer: C

13. Which of the following does not kill endospores?

A. Autoclave
B. Incineration
C. Hot air sterilization
D. Pasteurization

Answer: D

14. Which disinfectant was the most effective against Salmonella”?

A. Phenol
B. Cetylpyridinium chloride
C. Hexachlorophene
D. Merthiolate

Answer: D

15. If a canning procedure is not properly followed, which type of microbe is most likely to grow in the canned food?

A. Obligate Aerobe
B. Acidophile
C. Mesophile
D. Obligate Anaerobe

Answer: D

16. Bactericidal concentration of phenol is

A. 0.25%
B. 0.5%
C. 0.75%
D. 1%

Answer: D

17. Which of the following is most effective for sterilizing mattresses and plastic petri plates?

A. Chlorine
B. Ethylene oxide
C. Glutaraldehyde
D. Ultraviolet radiation

Answer: B

18. Which of the following skin disinfectant(s) is/are most frequently used?

A. Isopropyl alcohol
B. Ethyl alcohol
C. Both (a) and (b)
D. none of these

Answer: C

19. All of the following are sporicidal except

A. glutaraldehyde
B. ethylene oxide
C. formaldehyde
D. alcohol

Answer: D

20. Which of the following describes the effect of ionizing radiation on microbes?

A. Changes the 3-dimensional structure of proteins to a 2-dimen-sional form
B. Substantially decreases enzymatic activity, slowing microbial reproduction
C. Induces electrons and protons to jump out of the molecules of the microbe
D. None of the above

Answer: C

21. The process of making an object free from living organisms including bacterial and fungal spores and viruses is known as

A. pasteurization
B. antisepsis
C. disinfection
D. sterilization

Answer: D

22. Media containing spores and thermolabile constituents are sterilized by

A. pasteurization
B. UV radiation
C. dry heat
D. tyndalization

Answer: B

23. A(n)____is used to prevent infection by killing or inhibiting pathogen growth on animal tissues.

A. bacteriostatic agent
B. sanitizer
C. disinfectant
D. antiseptic

Answer: D

24. One drawback to the use of ultraviolet light as a sterilizing agent is its

A. failure to kill bacteria
B. failure to bacterial spores
C. failure to kill microbes in a closed environment
D. failure to kill microbes located in the center of an object

Answer: D

25. Ethylene oxide is used to destroy or kill which of the following microbes?

A. Bacteria
B. Spores
C. Fungi
D. All of these

Answer: D

PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL AGENTS Objective type Questions with Answers

26. Which of the following was the first widely used antiseptic and disinfectant?

A. Chlorine
B. Phenol
C. Iodine
D. Alcohol

Answer: B

27. If a 1:600 dilution of a test compound kills a standard population of Staphylococcus aureus in 10 minutes but not 5 minutes while a 1:60 dilution of phenol kills the population in the same time, what is the phenol coefficient of the test compound?

A. 1
B. 5
C. 10
D. 50

Answer: C

28. Microbes can be removed from a liquid solution by the process of

A. filtration
B. freeze-drying
C. osmosis
D. desiccation

Answer: A

29. Which of the following is bactericidal?

A. Membrane filtration
B. Ionizing radiation
C. Freeze-drying
D. Deep freezing

Answer: B

30. Which of the following process can be efficiently carried out by incineration?

A. Sterilization of scalpel blades and needles
B. Sterilization of all glass syringes
C. Sterilization of points of forceps
D. Destruction of contaminated materials

31. The organisms retained in the fluids filtered by Seitz filter is

A. Proteus
B. Staphylococcus
C. Clostridium
D. None of these

Answer: D

32. Which of the following material is sterilized by heating at 160°C in a hot air oven for one hour?

A. Swab sticks
B. All-glass syringes
C. Oils and jellies
D. All of these

Answer: D

33. For sterilization of which material gamma rays can be used?

A. Catheters
B. Plastic syringes
C. Canulas
D. None of these

Answer: D

34. Which of the following is sterilized with the help of glutaraldehyde?

A. Thermometers
B. Bronchoscopes
C. Cystoscopes
D. All of these

Answer: D

35. The time in minutes at a specific temperature needed to kill a population of cells is the

A. decimal reduction time
B. thermal death point
C. thermal death temperature
D. F value

Answer: D

36. Which of the following is a limitation of the autoclave?

A. It takes too long to sterilize
B. It lacks the ability to inactivate viruses
C. It lacks the ability to kill endospores
D. It will destroy heat labile materials

Answer: D

37. Which of the following has most heat resistant spores?

A. Clostridium histolyticum
B. Clostridium perfringens
C. Bacillus stearothermophilus
D. Bacillus cereus

Answer: C

38. The lowest temperature that kills all microorganisms in a liquid suspension in 10 minutes is known as the

A. decimal reduction time
B. thermal death point
C. thermal death temperature
D. thermal death time

Answer: B

39. Which of the following tests is designed to simulate the natural conditions under which the disinfectants are used in hospitals?

A. Phenol coefficient test
B. Minimum inhibitory concentration test
C. Capacity test
D. None of these

Answer: C

40. Steam exposure of a material at 100°C for 20 minutes for three consecutive days is known as

A. inspissation
B. tyndallization
C. autoclaving
D. none of these

Answer: B

41. Which of the following material is sterilized by use of red heat?

A. Soiled dressings
B. Inoculating wires and loops
C. Glass slides
D. All-glass syringes

Answer: B

42. Which of the following methods will not sterilize?

A. Aqueous glutaraldehyde for 10 hours
B. Dry heat at 171°C for 1 to 2 hours
C. 121°C at 15 lb/in pressure for 15 to 20 minutes
D. 100°C boiling water for 30 minutes

Answer: D

43. Which of the following is/are vapour-phase disinfectant/s?

A. Formaldehyde
B. Ethylene oxide
C. Both (a) and (b)
D. None of these

Answer: C

44. Sweet and salty foods frequently don’t require refrigeration to prevent spoilage because they have

A. insufficient nutrients
B. low pH
C. high concentration of solutes
D. toxic alkaline chemicals

Answer: C

45. Iodophores are mixture of

A. iodine and aldehydes
B. iodine and surface active agents
C. iodine and alcohols
D. iodine and phenols

Answer: B

46. Which of the following compounds are commonly used as general antiseptics to treat cuts and scratches?

A. Aldehydes
B. Ethylene oxide
C. Halogens
D. None of these

Answer: C

47. Complete destruction of the microorganisms is commonly known as

A. disinfection
B. sterilization
C. antisepsis
D. none of these

Answer: C

PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL AGENTS Questions and Answers pdf Download