Bread and mold

[Philip23]

Hi, I would like to know under what conditions does bread mold the fastest.

[deleted-2574]

Hi Philip23!

If you supply "When does bread mold the fastest?" to answers.com and look through the responses, you'll see different factors affecting mold growth rate. There are also suggested science projects.

[deleted-71395]

Just some background information...

My 4-year-old son and I just did that experiment and I'll offer some comments on our procedure:
-- we first wet the bread a bit and then dropped it on the ground a few times outside.
-- we put it inside a clear plastic zip-lock bag to keep outside forces from influencing the experiment, to allow light in, to allow us to see it, and to prevent the house from getting smelly!
-- it took about a week for the first evidence of mold to show up.
-- it took another week for it to start getting really moldy.

So, you'll want to give yourself at least 2 weeks to perform the experiment, so don't leave it for the last minute!

I think some good variables would be:
-- light: bright sunlight versus normal room light versus darkness.
-- temperature: room temperature versus some heat (on top of a computer monitor, for example) versus cold (refrigerator) versus freezing (freezer).
-- moisture: how wet do you make the bread initially.
-- exposure to the potential mold spores: dropping it outside versus inside, dropping it on the ground a lot, versus just a little, versus not at all.

That's a good experiment -- have fun!