Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello so I am in the process of a proposal and need a bit of help. Can you list things that affect bacteria growth? Also if you think one is a good one to test just say so. Thanks A lot in advance!

Hi justinday42,

Bacteria are living creatures so their growth rate is going to be affected by many of the same things that would affect other organisms, such as access to nutrients, access to oxygen, temperature, presence of potential toxins. All of these are testable. For example you could make media that contains different amounts of nutrients (some may be missing certain amino acids or sugars etc), or you could grow them at different temperatures, or you could add different amounts of an anti-bacterial reagent (such as in some soaps/ cleaning products) and see how it affects growth. There are lots of options!

Hope this helps you get some ideas.

Elizabeth