Spread the Soap, Not the Germs

Abstract

Objective

In this science project, you will investigate which parts of the hand are the most difficult to wash germs off of.

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Introduction

"Cough, cough, cough! Achoo!"

"Oh no, stay away from me! I don't want your germs!"

You may know that germs are something you don't want, and that they can be spread from one person to another, especially by coughing and sneezing. But what are germs? Germs are tiny little organisms, too small to be seen without a microscope. Not all germs make us sick, but many are the causes of a wide variety of common illnesses. For example, one type of germ, viruses, cause the flu and can also cause us to get a cold. Viruses need to be inside a human, animal, or plant to grow and multiply. Unlike viruses, bacteria, another type of germ, can live on their own. They're found in many different environments, but some prefer to live inside humans and these sometimes cause illnesses such as food poisoning or a really bad sore throat called strep throat.

Everyone gets sick sometimes, and it is pretty hard to avoid every germ all the time, but you can prevent the spread of germs by carefully washing your hands. Germs are everywhere and when we touch things, we get germs on our hands. Then we touch other things and those germs spread from object to object and person to person.

In this video from DragonflyTV, Jordan and Sydney do a science experiment to see how germs spread. They want to know which leads to the spread of more germs: covering your nose with your hands or with your elbow when you sneeze. Since germs are too small to easily track, Jordan and Sydney use a powder called Glo Germ, which can only be seen under an ultraviolet light, to simulate the spread of germs. Which technique do you think spreads more germs? Watch the video and find out!

According to health professionals, carefully washing your hands for 20 seconds (that's about as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice) in warm water with soap will eliminate most germs and keep you healthier. But germs can be tricky; they find nooks and crannies to hide in, so it takes good hand-washing technique to get rid of them. In this science project, you'll use Glo Germ to investigate which parts of the hand are the most difficult to wash germs off of.

Terms and Concepts

• Germ
• Virus
• Bacteria
• Simulate

Questions

• What are germs?
• How do germs spread?
• Do germs make people sick?
• What is the proper way to wash your hands?
• When is it a good idea to wash your hands?

Bibliography

This science project was based on the DragonflyTV podcast:

• TPT. (2006). Glo Germ by Jordan and Sydney. DragonflyTV, Twin Cities Public Television. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/glogerm.html

Other good information about germs and hand washing can be found at these websites:

• Nemours Foundation. (May 2006). What Are Germs? Retrieved March 28, 2008 from the KidsHealth website at http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/germs.html
• Department of Health and Human Services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008, February 18). Clean Hands Save Lives! Retrieved March 28, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

More information about Glo Germ can be found at their company website:

• Glo Germ. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2008 from http://www.glogerm.com/

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Materials and Equipment

• Glo Germ Mini Kit (comes with Glo Germ gel and an ultraviolet pen light for seeing the Glo Germ). This product can be purchased online from Amazon.com
• Volunteers, minimum of five
• Sink with running water
• Soap
• Lab notebook
• Graph paper

Experimental Procedure

For this science project, follow the experimental procedure below with as many volunteers as you can.

1. Applying the Glo Germ Gel
   1. Squeeze a nickel-sized amount of the Glo Germ gel on the palms of your volunteers' hands.
   2. Have your volunteers rub their hands together as if they were applying hand lotion. Make sure they completely cover their hands, including around their fingernails and in between their fingers.
2. Once the Glo Germ gel has been applied, have your volunteers wash their hands with soap and water. Even though they now know where the Glo Germ is on their hands, since you directed them to completely cover their hands, fingernails, and in-between their fingers, be sure they wash their hands as they normally would.
3. Now shine the ultraviolet pen light on their hands. Look carefully for any "glowing germs."
   1. Doing this step in a darkened room or closet makes it easier to see.
   2. Are there any? Where are they located— on the palms, fingers, back of hands, around the fingernails? In your lab notebook, make a data table, like the one below, showing all the possible parts of the hand that germs might be found on. For each test subject, insert a check mark for each part of the hand where you observed "germs" after hand washing.

These images show different parts of the hand where you might find germs.

4. After you've done this procedure with all your test subjects, add the number of check marks for each column in your data table. How many people had "germs" left on each part of their hand? Make a bar graph showing your results. Which hand part was least likely to get clean? What conclusions can you draw about the effectiveness of people's hand-washing techniques?

Explore More!

Interested in the science behind viral outbreaks? Check out Zika Virus.

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:

Health Educator

Have you ever heard the expression "Prevention is the best medicine"? Prevention is the fundamental work of all health educators. They attempt to prevent illnesses or diseases in individuals or entire communities through education about nutrition, exercise, or other habits and behaviors. Health educators present scientific information in ways that their audience can relate to, and are sensitive to cultural differences. They are the cornerstone of the public health system, improving health and saving thousands of lives by motivating changes in behavior. Read more

Epidemiologist

Do you like a good mystery? Well, an epidemiologist's job is all about solving mysteries—medical mysteries—but instead of figuring out "who done it" like a police detective would, they figure out "what caused it." They find relationships between a medical condition and things like human behavior, environmental toxins, genes, medical treatments, other diseases, and geographical location. For example, they ask questions like what causes multiple sclerosis? How can we prevent brain cancer? What is the "vector" or animal that is transmitting the hantavirus? Which populations are most at risk from a new flu virus? Epidemiologists work to answer these and thousands of other questions in an effort to reduce public health risks. Their work has the potential to save millions of lives. Read more

Variations

• Does the length of time spent washing your hands impact how many germs are left after hand washing? Repeat the science project above, this time using a stopwatch and having your volunteers wash their hands for different lengths of time, like 10, 20, and 40 seconds. Remember to have at least three volunteers participate in each time trial.
• Once they're on your hands where do the germs go? Do they get transferred to other objects? Design an experiment, using the Glo Germ, to examine where the "glowing germs" go.
• Try repeating Jordan and Sydney's experiment to find out whether covering your nose with your elbow when you sneeze spreads fewer germs than covering your nose with your hands. Do your results match the DragonflyTV results?

Explore More!

Interested in the science behind viral outbreaks? Check out Zika Virus.

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Yes, I Did This Project! Please log in (or create a free account) to let us know how things went.

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Related Links

• Science Fair Project Guide
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• Microbiology Project Ideas
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