Simple & negative stains

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of a simple staining technique?

Answer 1

to visualize the cell’s size, shape, and arrangement

Question 2

simple stains are generally composed of which type of dye?

Answer 2

basic dyes that bind to acidic cell components

Question 3

which of the following is NOT a step in preparing a negative stain?
- heat fix the slide
- mix the bacterial sample with the dye
- spread the mixture on a clean slide
- allow the slide to air dry

Answer 3

heat fix the slide

Question 4

what is a key advantage of using negative staining over simple staining?

Answer 4

it can be used to visualize capsules

Question 5

what is a characteristic of negative staining?

Answer 5

the background is stained, leaving the cells clear

Question 6

in simple staining, what type of dye is typically used to stain bacterial cells?

Answer 6

basic dye

Question 7

one limitation of the negative staining technique is that it

Answer 7

provides little to no information about internal cellular structures

Question 8

in preparing a simple stain slide, which step is essential f ensuring that the bacterial cells properly adhere to the slide

Answer 8

heat fixation of the smear

Question 9

which reagent is most often utilized for negative staining in the microbiology lab?

Answer 9

nigrosin

Question 10

negative stain dyes are

Answer 10

acidic