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Science Quiz - Biology - Superbugs (AQA) (Questions)

Discover how antibiotic resistance creates "superbugs", why overusing medicines is dangerous, and what science and society can do to keep life-saving drugs working.

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Fascinating Fact:

Future fighters include rapid diagnostics, phage therapy, and monoclonal antibodies to target pathogens precisely.

In GCSE Science (Biology, AQA), you explore how bacteria can evolve resistance to antibiotics. These resistant strains are often called superbugs and make infections harder and more expensive to treat.

Key Terms

  • Superbug: A strain of microorganism that is difficult to treat because it is resistant to several antibiotics.
  • Antibiotic: A medicine used to kill bacteria or stop them growing and reproducing.
  • Mutation: A change in DNA that can create new traits, such as resistance to an antibiotic.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are superbugs in GCSE Biology?

In GCSE Biology, superbugs are bacteria that have become resistant to one or more antibiotics, often through mutation and natural selection, making infections harder to control.

How does antibiotic resistance develop in bacteria?

Antibiotic resistance develops when random mutations give some bacteria an advantage. When antibiotics are used, resistant bacteria survive, reproduce, and pass on their resistance genes.

How can we reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

We can reduce resistance by using antibiotics only when prescribed, completing the full course, practising good hygiene, and supporting infection control and vaccination programmes.

Try These Related Quizzes

1. What are antibiotics?
[ ] Chemicals that destroy viruses
[ ] Chemicals that prevent bacteria from growing or kill them
[ ] Hormones that are found naturally in white blood cells
[ ] Hormones secreted by white blood cells that stick to antigens
2. What is a resistant bacteria?
[ ] One that can resist being squashed
[ ] One that is not affected by acids
[ ] One that is not affected by antibiotics
[ ] One that can resist an attack by a bacteriophage virus
3. MRSA is the abbreviation for which of the following?
[ ] Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
[ ] Microbiologically resistant staphylococcus aureus
[ ] Multi resistant staphylococcus aurelius
[ ] Microbiologically resistant streptococcus aurelius
4. How do these resistant strains of bacteria arise?
[ ] Natural selection
[ ] Artificial selection
[ ] Selective breeding
[ ] Non-selective breeding
5. What is the least probable outcome when a resistant strain of bacteria develops?
[ ] Some diseases could become very difficult to control
[ ] The bacteria will grow larger
[ ] New types of antibiotic will need to be developed
[ ] An epidemic
6. What part of the bacteria controls resistance?
[ ] Chromosomes
[ ] Nucleus
[ ] Cytoplasm
[ ] Genes
7. Why should you always complete a course of antibiotics?
[ ] So that you don't waste the money spent on your prescription
[ ] It is illegal not to finish the whole course
[ ] It avoids wasting the antibiotics
[ ] It kills off the maximum number of bacteria
8. Resistance to antibiotics is genetic. Why is this a problem?
[ ] Resistance can be passed on to future generations of bacteria
[ ] It means that resistant bacteria genes could become part of your genes
[ ] You might become immune to the antibiotic
[ ] It makes bacteria grow faster
9. What are doctors doing to slow down the development of resistant bacteria?
[ ] Prescribing more antibiotics
[ ] Prescribing longer courses of antibiotics
[ ] Prescribing fewer antibiotics
[ ] Not prescribing antibiotics
10. Which of the following answers contain the missing words in the correct order?

_________ are one cause of variation in a population of bacteria. A course of ____________ will kill off the non-resistant bacteria leaving ____________ bacteria to multiply. If these escape from the patient it is possible they can _______ others with bacteria that are not killed by antibiotics.
[ ] Genes, antibodies, resistant, enter.
[ ] Antigens, antibiotics, resistant, infect.
[ ] Zygotes, cytoplasm, superbug, do
[ ] Mutations, antibiotics, resistant, infect.

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Infection and response

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Science Quiz - Biology - Superbugs (AQA) (Answers)
1. What are antibiotics?
[ ] Chemicals that destroy viruses
[x] Chemicals that prevent bacteria from growing or kill them
[ ] Hormones that are found naturally in white blood cells
[ ] Hormones secreted by white blood cells that stick to antigens
An easy start! Antibiotics are usually specific to certain groups of bacteria
2. What is a resistant bacteria?
[ ] One that can resist being squashed
[ ] One that is not affected by acids
[x] One that is not affected by antibiotics
[ ] One that can resist an attack by a bacteriophage virus
The usual example is MRSA
3. MRSA is the abbreviation for which of the following?
[x] Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
[ ] Microbiologically resistant staphylococcus aureus
[ ] Multi resistant staphylococcus aurelius
[ ] Microbiologically resistant streptococcus aurelius
MRSA is resistant to the penicillin family of antibiotics (and some others too)
4. How do these resistant strains of bacteria arise?
[x] Natural selection
[ ] Artificial selection
[ ] Selective breeding
[ ] Non-selective breeding
Natural selection ensures that only the resistant or most resistant bacteria survive a course of treatment
5. What is the least probable outcome when a resistant strain of bacteria develops?
[ ] Some diseases could become very difficult to control
[x] The bacteria will grow larger
[ ] New types of antibiotic will need to be developed
[ ] An epidemic
Resistance in bacteria is nothing to do with how big they are
6. What part of the bacteria controls resistance?
[ ] Chromosomes
[ ] Nucleus
[ ] Cytoplasm
[x] Genes
You may have been tempted by the answer chromosomes. Chromosomes are made from genes and certain genes can give a bacteria resistance to certain antibiotics
7. Why should you always complete a course of antibiotics?
[ ] So that you don't waste the money spent on your prescription
[ ] It is illegal not to finish the whole course
[ ] It avoids wasting the antibiotics
[x] It kills off the maximum number of bacteria
The antibiotic kills off the least resistant bacteria first and you start to feel well again. If you don't complete the course, the most resistant bacteria could survive. If they escape from your body and infect other people who do the same as you, a completely resistant strain could develop
8. Resistance to antibiotics is genetic. Why is this a problem?
[x] Resistance can be passed on to future generations of bacteria
[ ] It means that resistant bacteria genes could become part of your genes
[ ] You might become immune to the antibiotic
[ ] It makes bacteria grow faster
Resistant bacteria will survive a course of antibiotic and therefore be able to reproduce with less competition. As future generations of bacteria inherit this resistance, diseases become more difficult to control
9. What are doctors doing to slow down the development of resistant bacteria?
[ ] Prescribing more antibiotics
[ ] Prescribing longer courses of antibiotics
[x] Prescribing fewer antibiotics
[ ] Not prescribing antibiotics
Doctors no longer prescribe antibiotics for minor infections. When your own immune system deals with the bacteria, it does not rely on antibiotics, so both resistant and non-resistant bacteria are destroyed
10. Which of the following answers contain the missing words in the correct order?

_________ are one cause of variation in a population of bacteria. A course of ____________ will kill off the non-resistant bacteria leaving ____________ bacteria to multiply. If these escape from the patient it is possible they can _______ others with bacteria that are not killed by antibiotics.
[ ] Genes, antibodies, resistant, enter.
[ ] Antigens, antibiotics, resistant, infect.
[ ] Zygotes, cytoplasm, superbug, do
[x] Mutations, antibiotics, resistant, infect.
Exam and test tip: Were you one of the ones who worked out all 4 words first? Hat's off, you are a high flyer! But you don't really need to get all of the missing words. You can narrow it down to two answers by considering just the first word. So when answering questions, especially multiple choice, use techniques like this to make them seem less daunting
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