Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

If I could please get help coming up with a catchy title for my science fair project, my research questions is : At my school, are the cellphones dirtier than the toilet seats? I basically need a fun, catchy, title relating to bacteria, phones, and toilets. Thank you!

Hi pleaseandthankyou,

A couple of titles that come to mind are as follows:

Bacteria: Does a cell phone or toilet seat have more?

Dirty Talking: Does your cell phone have more bacteria than a toilet seat?

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

Hi! so my project is VERY last minute, i wish i had started sooner but sadly i cant change the past. I'm growing bacteria for my project due on Monday (it's currently Saturday) I have almost everything typed out Except my data and conclusions, something i can't do without my bacteria being fully grown. I started growing it yesterday, so it should be good by Sunday night (some bacteria is already visible). My question is, is there something i can do to make my bacteria grow faster so i can chart down my data and conclusion and put it on my poster board? Its currently in a heated, dark, place so idk what else to do. Or if someone has any advice on how i can do all of this so quickly. Again, i know it was very stupid to wait so long to start but i really cant change the past so i have to just keep going. Thank u in advance.

How do I identify the bacteria grown in petri dishes? do i need a microscope? so far i have white circular spots, is that one specific type? if so does anyone know what type of bacteria that is

HI! So, my science fair project question is : At (my school) do the cellphones have more bacteria than the toilet seats? So, i understand that the independant variable is what is being changed, but i dont understand what that would be for my project. The dependent variable is bacteria, but i m just not sure what my independant variable is. if you cant just tell me can someone please help me figure it out? thank u!

Hi pleaseandthankyou,

Growing and identifying bacteria are topics well outside my expertise. But you should be able to find ample information online about both. For example, the following links have information about conditions for bacterial growth and identification of bacteria:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/1260 ... al-growth/

http://www.biologydiscussion.com/bacter ... teps/30652

An independent variable is something that you change in your experiment to observe a response in a dependent variable. In your experiment the amount of bacterial growth (or possibly the type of bacteria) is the dependent variable. And you are examining the bacteria on different items (cell phone and toilet seat surfaces). So the item (or type of surface) is your independent variable. More information about variables can be found here:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... /variables

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman