Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Posted on behalf of student
------------------------------------------

I am using the bacteria growing kit and was doing the disinfectants experiment. (https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... tants-work)

I used plastic cups as my fomite (rather than the cutting board) and used water as my control group. I have the plates on cookie sheet inside an indoor closet at room temperature approximately 72 F
I am not using incubator

No bacteria is growing except for one
But not even the control group is showing bacteria. Which concerns me, they’ve been sitting since Friday.

I am in South Carolina and was wondering if placing in outdoor closet where it is hot will render better results.

I am panicking here since it is for science fair this Saturday 20th

Hello!

It is possible that leaving the bacteria sheet outside could have helped with bacterial growth. Many different microbes grow best in warmer temperatures, which as you mentioned, can yield better results. I see that your science fair was on Saturday, so I apologize if this advice is not relevant anymore. Nonetheless, this can still be a fun experiment to reproduce even without a science fair - I performed a similar experiment last year and got very interesting results!

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!

- Chloe