Question

Which of the following statements about viruses is FALSE?

A)They are small, obligate, intracellular parasites
B)They lack chemical machinery for generating energy
C)They have nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat
D)All true

Answer 1

The statement that all viruses are encased in a viral membrane is false; while many viruses have an envelope, not all do. Instead, all viruses have a protein coat, and their nucleic acid is either DNA or RNA, not both.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement about viruses that is false is that all viruses are encased in a viral membrane. While many viruses do have an outer envelope, it is not true for all viruses. Some viruses only have a protein coat known as a capsid without any lipid envelope. The capsid is made up of smaller protein subunits called capsomeres. Moreover, viruses have nucleic acid which can be either DNA or RNA, not both, and they rely on host cells to replicate because they lack the machinery to generate energy or undertake metabolic processes on their own. Glycoproteins on the virus surface indeed help in the attachment to host cells and aid in viral entry.