Class 12 Biology — Chapter 8: MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

What you'll learn

• ▸Microbes in Household Food Products
• ▸Industrial Production of Fermented Beverages
• ▸Discovery and Production of Antibiotics
• ▸Microbial Production of Chemicals, Enzymes, and Bioactive Molecules
• ▸Microbes in Sewage Treatment
• ▸Anaerobic Sludge Digestion
• ▸Diversity of Microorganisms

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- CHAPTER 8 12083CH10 MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE 8.1 Microbes in Household Products 8.2 Microbes in Industrial Products 8.3 Microbes in Sewage Treatment 8.4 Microbes in Production of Biogas 8.5 Microbes as Biocontrol Agents 8.6 Microbes as Biofertilisers Besides macroscopic plants and animals, microbes are the major components of biological systems on this earth. You have studied about the diversity of living organisms in Class XI. Do you remember which Kingdoms among the living organisms contain micro-organisms? Which are the ones that are only microscopic? Microbes are present everywhere – in soil, water, air, inside our bodies and that of other animals and plants. They are present even at sites where no other life-form could possibly exist – sites such as deep inside the geysers (thermal vents) where the temperature may be as high as 100°C, deep in the soil, under the layers of snow several metres thick, and in highly acidic environments…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

Tap "Get Solution" on any question to ask our AI tutor.

1. Explain how antibiotics work. Get Solution →
2. Name useful microbes in food. Get Solution →
3. Discover what makes bread rise. Get Solution →
4. What microorganisms are commonly called LAB and are used to convert milk into curd? Get Solution →
5. The dough used for making bread is fermented using which microbe? Get Solution →
6. Which vitamin's nutritional quality is improved in curd compared to milk? Get Solution →
7. What was the first antibiotic to be discovered? Get Solution →
8. The large holes in 'Swiss cheese' are due to the production of CO2 by which bacterium? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 Ancient Egyptians invented bread baking using yeast over 4,000 years ago.
• 💡 Some bacteria produce natural antifreeze, helping plants survive in freezing weather.
• 💡 Your body contains more microbial cells than human cells, mostly in your gut.
• 💡 The smell of Roquefort cheese comes from specific fungi that also grow on feet.
• 💡 Penicillin was first mass-produced using a mold found on a cantaloupe in a market.

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