What term describes organisms that grow, feed, and shelter on or in another organism and must have a host to survive?

• A. Germs
• B. Parasites
• C. Bacteria
• D. Viruses

Answer: (B)

Parasites are organisms that live on or in another organism, feed off it, and must have a host to survive. This definition fits precisely the description of growing, feeding, and sheltering on or in a host while depending on that host for survival.

Germs is a broad, vague label for microorganisms and doesn’t specify dependence on a host. Bacteria are a specific type of microbe that can live independently in many environments, so they don’t inherently must have a host. Viruses rely on a host to replicate, but they don’t “grow” and feed in the same way as organisms that live off a host; they hijack host cells rather than feeding themselves in a typical biological sense.