GED Science - Bacteria and Single-Cell Organisms

Which of the following statements about bacteria is correct?

Bacteria are considered by scientists to be alive

CORRECT

Bacteria lack the necessary organelles to be considered alive

All bacteria require a host organism to infect

Bacteria are neither alive nor dead

Bacteria cells have the same general structures and organelles as animal cells

Explanation

Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms and are considered alive. Bacteria can survive and reproduce independent of a host (consider a colony of bacteria cells growing in a Petri dish). Though they do not have membrane-bound organelles, like a nucleus or mitochondria, bacterial cells do have DNA and are still able to produce cellular energy.

This question confuses many properties of viruses with those of bacteria. Viruses are not generally considered alive and require a host cell in order to replicate.

Bacteria and Single-Cell Organisms

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