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Showing 1 - 5 of 6 Project Ideas
Rise to the Occasion: Investigating Requirements for Yeast Fermentation
Rise to the Occasion: Investigating Requirements for Yeast Fermentation
Difficulty
Time Required Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites Good observational skills
Material Availability Readily available
Cost Very Low (under $20)
Safety Adult supervision recommended for handling hot liquids

Did you ever wonder how yeast makes bread dough rise? This project will show you what yeast does to make this happen. You'll also investigate the conditions yeast needs to grow. Read more
How Do Food Preservatives Affect the Growth of Microorganisms?
How Do Food Preservatives Affect the Growth of Microorganisms?
Difficulty
Time Required Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites To do this project, you will need access to a laboratory with facilities for culturing bacteria. You should be familiar with sterile technique and proper handling of bacterial cultures.
Material Availability Specialty items
Cost Average ($50 - $100)
Safety Standard precautions for handling bacterial cultures.

This project uses liquid cultures and agar plates to investigate the effects of different concentrations of a food preservative on microbial growth. Read more
Yeast Reproduction in Sugar Substitutes
Yeast Reproduction in Sugar Substitutes
Difficulty
Time Required Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites None
Material Availability Readily available
Cost Low ($20 - $50)
Safety No issues

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh-baked bread to make your mouth water! As any baker can tell you, you can't bake bread without yeast. This project makes clever use of bread dough to measure yeast reproduction three different ways, and investigates how well yeast grow with sugar substitutes as a food source. Pass the butter, please! Read more
Can Garlic Prevent Crown Gall?
Can Garlic Prevent Crown Gall?
Difficulty
Time Required Long (2-4 weeks)
Prerequisites You will need a plant with an existing crown gall infection as a source of bacteria for this project.
Material Availability Readily available
Cost Low ($20 - $50)
Safety Use caution when cutting with sharp knife or razor blade.

Crown gall is a plant disease caused by the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This project uses tomato plants to investigate whether garlic extract can prevent crown gall infection. Read more
Germ Invasion
Germ Invasion
Difficulty
Time Required Long (2-4 weeks)
Material Availability Agar plates must be specially ordered
Cost Low ($20 - $50)
Safety Must follow general safety precautions for handling microorganisms

Microbes are everywhere in our environment, but for the most part they escape our notice. This project shows you how to safely culture and study common bacteria from your everyday surroundings. Read more
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