Caveat Academy course · Grades 8 to 12

Microbiology

A semester of microbiology: how microbes were found and how to see them, what bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi and protists are, how infections spread and how immunity and vaccines answer, why antibiotics work and how resistance evolves, and the microbes that make yogurt, insulin and soil. Six modules at your own pace, with a check in every lesson and a certificate at the end.

Start the courseSee the modules
$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 12 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: The microbial world

    Compare the main groups of microbes, explain the experiments that founded microbiology, and compute magnification and microbe sizes.

    • What counts as a microbe
    • How microbes were discovered
    • Seeing the invisible
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Bacteria and archaea

    Describe bacterial structure, compute population growth from generation times, and explain how archaea and extremophiles differ from other life.

    • Inside a bacterial cell
    • How bacteria grow
    • Archaea and life at the extremes
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Viruses, fungi and protists

    Explain how viruses attach, replicate and spread, and compare viruses with fungi and protists.

    • What a virus is
    • How viruses copy themselves
    • Fungi and protists
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Infection and immunity

    Analyze how an infection spreads through the chain of infection and explain how barriers, innate and adaptive immunity and vaccines protect people, including herd immunity thresholds.

    • How infections spread
    • The immune system
    • Vaccines and herd immunity
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Antibiotics, resistance and control

    Explain how antibiotics achieve selective toxicity, analyze how resistance evolves, and evaluate methods of controlling microbes.

    • How antibiotics work
    • How resistance evolves
    • Controlling microbes in daily life
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Microbes at work

    Evaluate claims about the microbiome and explain the roles of microbes in fermentation, medicine and the nitrogen cycle.

    • The human microbiome
    • Fermentation and food
    • Microbes in medicine and the environment
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 5 · How resistance evolves

Worked example: selection in a flask

  1. A flask holds a billion bacteria, and about one in ten million carries a mutation that resists drug X.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High SchoolAlso for Enrichment · STEM Explorations$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished semester of microbiology: you can tell the main kinds of microbes apart and explain the experiments that proved germs exist, compute magnification and population growth, explain how viruses take over cells, trace an infection through the chain of infection, explain how immunity and vaccines work and compute a herd immunity threshold, explain why antibiotics cure bacterial but not viral infections and how resistance spreads, and weigh claims about the microbiome. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 8 to 12 who are curious about germs, medicine or lab science, are preparing for a biology or microbiology class, or are thinking about careers in health care, public health or research; homeschool families who want a complete semester unit. Home activities use baker's yeast and yogurt cultures only; the course explains why it never has students grow bacteria from swabs at home.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 12 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics; also listed for the STEM Explorations space in Caveat Enrichment (the same course serves the Microbiology & the Invisible World title).
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, handwashing guidance and antibiotic resistance facts: cdc.gov/clean-hands and cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance
  2. World Health Organization, smallpox eradication and vaccine fact sheets: who.int
  3. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, overview of the immune system: niaid.nih.gov
  4. Sender, Fuchs and Milo, Revised estimates for the number of human and bacteria cells in the body, PLOS Biology, 2016: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002533
  5. OpenStax, Microbiology, a free college textbook: openstax.org

Microbiology is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It follows the sequence of a typical one-semester microbiology elective but does not replace a school course or supervised lab work and awards no credit. Health lessons are general science education, not medical advice; questions about a person's own health, medicines or vaccines belong with a doctor or nurse. Example numbers in worked problems are labeled as examples or estimates. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.