blotter paper or incubate?
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:47 am
Hello,
My First grade daughter is doing her first science fair project on hand sanitizer verses soap: which will kill more germs on hands? We purchased a kit that includes petri dishes, agar, swabs and blotter paper knowing that we would need to observe the germs. As we try to figure out exactly how to follow the scientific process we are running into a few hurdles. I am finding that many people will swab hands for bacteria, put it in the agar in the dish, wash hands with each product and place hands in agar again. I am unsure of what would be safe and consisitent as a bactria on her hands to grow? and how do they incubate the germs (does this mean just set in a dry, dark place for a period of time). The set we have has you place dirty hands in agar, grow bacteria, and soap/ sanitizer to blotter paper and whatch what happens in petri dish over hands. So we need to know:
What is best way to get a consisitent bacteria on hands (we are thinking a soil manure mix)?
Which way would be best to find results? Incubate bacteria after cleaning hands or use the blotter paper with cleaning products?
How do you incubate? Do you just set in dark place?
How do you count colonies of bacteria??
I am probably thinking about this too much, but I am not a "science person", although I am trying!
Thanks!
My First grade daughter is doing her first science fair project on hand sanitizer verses soap: which will kill more germs on hands? We purchased a kit that includes petri dishes, agar, swabs and blotter paper knowing that we would need to observe the germs. As we try to figure out exactly how to follow the scientific process we are running into a few hurdles. I am finding that many people will swab hands for bacteria, put it in the agar in the dish, wash hands with each product and place hands in agar again. I am unsure of what would be safe and consisitent as a bactria on her hands to grow? and how do they incubate the germs (does this mean just set in a dry, dark place for a period of time). The set we have has you place dirty hands in agar, grow bacteria, and soap/ sanitizer to blotter paper and whatch what happens in petri dish over hands. So we need to know:
What is best way to get a consisitent bacteria on hands (we are thinking a soil manure mix)?
Which way would be best to find results? Incubate bacteria after cleaning hands or use the blotter paper with cleaning products?
How do you incubate? Do you just set in dark place?
How do you count colonies of bacteria??
I am probably thinking about this too much, but I am not a "science person", although I am trying!
Thanks!