Science Learning Hub logo
TopicsConceptsCitizen scienceTeacher PLDGlossary
Sign in
Image

Bacteria

Campylobacter bacteria under a microscope

Bacteria cells are single-celled organisms – they can live by themselves. This image is of a Campylobacter bacteria – a common cause of diarrhoea and dysentery.

Bacteria are situated on extreme ends when it comes to numbers. They are really tiny – measured in micrometres (between 10-6 m and 10-7 m), but are really abundant – there are approximately 5 nonillion (5x1030) bacteria on Earth, with around 40 million bacteria in a single gram of soil!

Image: Public domain – U.S. Government

Glossary

Rights: Public domain – US Government
Published: 22 July 2021Size: 335.78 KB
Referencing Hub media

Explore related content

Appears inRelated resources
Interactive diagram showing objects on the microscopic scale.

Interactive

Microscopic scale examples

We define the microscopic scale as the range of sizes of objects that can be detected using microscopes. This diagram ...

Read more
Bacteria – good, bad and ugly

Article

Bacteria – good, bad and ugly

Bacteria range from the essential and useful, to the harmful.

Read more
Microorganisms – friend or foe?

Article

Microorganisms – friend or foe?

We can’t see them. We can’t hear them or feel them, but they are with us. There are 10 trillion ...

Read more
Healthy gut bacteria

Article

Healthy gut bacteria

For most of the time, the population of bacteria in the large intestine lives in balance within its confines.

Read more

See our newsletters here.

NewsEventsAboutContact usPrivacyCopyrightHelp

The Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao is funded through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Science in Society Initiative.

Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao © 2007-2025 The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato