1. Bacteria Notes
11/27/17

2. Answer the following question
Answer the following question. You must support your answer with evidence or from your personal experience.
Is bacteria good or bad?

3. Bacteria
Remember: Bacteria are prokaryotic, unicellular organisms. They do not have a nucleus. All of the genetic material (DNA) is contained in the cytoplasm.

4. Bacteria
Bacteria can get energy from making food or eating other organisms.
Autotrophs: Make their own food; some use the sun’s energy like plants while others use chemical substances in their environment
Heterotrophs: Cannot make their own food; They consume other organisms or food other organisms make.

5. Bacteria Bacteria can reproduce in a couple of different ways.
Binary Fission: One cell divides to form 2 identical cells
Conjugation: One bacteria inserts genetic material into another and when the second bacteria goes through binary fission the off spring will have a mix of genetics.

6. Bacteria
Bacteria is critical in producing oxygen and maintaining healthy oxygen levels on Earth.
Autotrophic bacteria uses the sun’s energy to produce food and thus releasing oxygen as a waste product.
Billions of years ago Earth had very little oxygen. Scientists believe bacteria was the first organisms to introduce oxygen into Earth’s atmosphere.

7. Bacteria in Food
Some bacteria is harmful to food. It will break down the chemicals in food causing it to spoil.
Pasteurization heats food just enough to kill most of the harmful bacteria without changing the product.
Bacteria is also found in a variety of foods that we eat like cheese and yogurt.

8. Bacteria in Health
Your body is full of bacteria that helps you survive and complete daily functions.
Your intestines have a bacteria call E. coli that is critical in helping your body digest food.
Some bacteria makes vitamins that your body needs to stay healthy and survive.
Many medicines can be made with bacteria. Introducing healthy bacteria into our bodies help us fight off germs and diseases.
Some bacteria can be considered pathogens and can cause diseases to affect your body.
Ex) Strep throat, food poisoning, and tuberculosis.

9. Bacteria in nature
Certain bacteria can convert chemical compositions in substances to make them less harmful to the environment.
Decomposers: Organisms that break down large, complex chemicals in dead organism into smaller simpler chemicals.
Nature’s recyclers; they return basic chemicals to the environment for other living things to use.
Some bacteria are critical to plant production. They convert nitrogen gas into nitrogen products plants can use to help them grow.
Bacteria can introduce harmful products into the environment and kill whole crops.