OUTLINE OF THE LESSON:

Activate prior knowledge!!!!

HOW DO YOU THINK BACTERIA AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES? Good ways?
Bad ways?
o Remind them about graphic organizer
o Take 4 examples of good ways and 4 of bad ways.
write them on the board
o Good ways include: food production (cheese, yogurt, wine, beer),
antibiotics (penicillin), live on/in us (in gut to help digestion,
prevent some infections), help us purify waste water, etc.
o Bad ways include: contaminate our food and water, food
poisoning, cause disease, lead to mold, etc.
WHAT IS A BACTERIA?
o Go to powerpoint

What is bacteria?

Prokaryotic microorganism that is too small to be seen without an

unaided eye
Bacteria are found everywhere from hot springs to on your own skin.
HOW BIG DO YOU THINK BACTERIA ARE?
o They range in size from 0.2 2.0 micrometers
That is super small because there are 1,000,000
micrometers in 1 meter!

What is a prokaryote?

A prokaryote is a unicellular organism

o Has a single circular chromosome of DNA
DNA NOT enclosed within a membrane
o Does NOT have membrane-enclosed organelles.

HOW DO WE IDENTIFY BACTERIA?

Bacterial cell morphology

Bacterial cell arrangement

What is a morphology?

The form and structure of a particular organism, organ, tissue or cell.

o This includes the shape and other externally visible
characteristics of the cell or colony of bacteria.

5 Types of Morphologies *** Remind them of the graphic organizer,

prompt them to tell something it looks like.

1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)

Bacillus = rod/cigar shaped

Coccus = spherical shaped
Coccobacilli = potato/ cigar butt shaped
Spirilla = spiral shaped
Vibrios = slightly curved rod

What is a Cell Arrangement mean?

Determined by the number of planes in which the division occurs and

on whether the cells separate after the division
WHY DO BACTERIA DIVIDE?
o They divide because that is how they reproduce
This is called binary fission

So, Which morphologies undergo multicellular associations?

Cocci and Bacilli

Division Patterns Among Cocci *** Remind them of graphic

organizer, prompt them to tell you something it looks like

When cocci divide to reproduce, the cells may remain attached to one
another
The arrangement of the coccus can be helpful when identifying the
bacteria you are looking at
1.) When they divide and stay attached in pairs, they are called
diplococcus
o An easy way to remember is that the prefix di- means two
2.) Those that divide and remain in chainlike patterns are called
streptococcus
o A good way to remember this is that the prefix strepto- is
Greek for twisted chain
3.) Those that divide into two planes and remain in groups of 4 are
called tetrad
o Tetra = 4
4.) Those that divide into 3 planes and remain in cubelike groups of 8
are called sarcina
o Sarcina is latin for pack
5.) Lastly, those that divide into multiple planes and form grapelike
clusters or sheets are called staphylococcus

o Staphylo is Greek for grape

Division patterns Among Bacilli

Different divisions of bacillus can only produce streptobacillus or

diplobacillus
o Bacilli do NOT exhibit tetrads or sarcina
o WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CAN ONLY DO THESE TYPES OF
DIVISIONS think of their shape
They are longer and therefore they typically only divide
across their short axis so there are fewer groupings of
bacilli than cocci

What determines the shape or arrangement of a bacteria?

It is determined by heredity!
Most bacteria are monomorphic
o This means that they typically maintain a single shape or
arrangement
However, some bacteria are pleomorphic
o This means that they might have several different shapes
DO YOU THINK IT IS EASIER TO IDENTIFY BACTERIA THAT ARE
PLEOMORPHIC OR MONOMORPHIC ? WHY?
o Monomorphic

RECAP

Morphology refers to the shape of the bacterial cell

Arrangement describes the different types of divisions that may occur
Ask if they have any questions
Answers to the assessment at the end of the PPT: A, C, B, A,
Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Left, Left, Left, Left, Right