“Lab 1 Introduction to Science BIO250L”

Student Name: Katelyn Rumrill

Access Code (located on the underside of the lid of your lab kit): AC-AV5XJQM.

“Pre-Lab Questions”
1. What constitutes personal protective equipment? When should personal protective equipment
be worn? Why is personal protective equipment important?
Safety goggles/glasses, gloves, and lab coat/apron; these items should be worn every time you
are completing an experiment. Personal protective equipment is important to protect you
during the experiments.

2. Why are there increasing levels of biological containment procedures? What level of biological
containment will be necessary to complete the experiments in this manual?
Main reason is to make sure the microbiology lab is safe. Another reason is to prevent any
laboratory acquired infections and protect the scientists that are working with viruses and
pathogenic organisms during their research. Having biological containment keeps others safe as
well.

3. What document should you refer to if you have questions regarding the safety or disposal of a
chemical? Where can this document be located?
The document needed is the material safety data sheet. This sheet can be found on the
manufacturers website.

4. List five safety procedures that should always be adhered to when working with
microorganisms.

a. Wash hands thoroughly once you are completed with your work

b. No eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum, applying cosmetics, handling and storing
food in the laboratory

c. Everyone involved in the experiment should read the instructions correctly before
starting

d. Wear gloves before handling any specimen and put other PPE on as needed. Closed
toed shoes are always required.
“Lab 1 Introduction to Science BIO250L”

e. Wash hands and decontaminate working surfaces after any experiment.

“Lab 1 Introduction to Science BIO250L”

“EXERCISE 1: DATA INTERPRETATION

1. What patterns do you observe based on the information in Table 4?
The more basic the medium is the more microbes there are. When the pH is neutral the
microbes get even higher and peak at a pH of 7 (296). Once the pH becomes alkaline the
microbes start decreasing.

2. Develop a hypothesis relating to the pH level of the culture media and the number of microbial
colonies observed in each culture.
Microbes increase when the pH becomes neutral.

3. What would your experimental approach be to test this hypothesis?

I would culture the microbes and test under pH levels that range from basic to acidic.

4. What would be the independent and dependent variables?

The pH would be considered the independent variable and the microbe would be the dependent
variable.

5. What would be your control?

The control would be the pH when it is neutral.

6. What type of graph would be appropriate for this data set? Why?
A line graph would be the best to demonstrate the suggested data set. One axis would show the
pH scale while the other axis shows the number of microbes that correlate. Using this type of
graph gives a clear view of the range of microbes depending on the pH levels.
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7. Graph the data from Table 4. Include your name and access code handwritten on your graph.

8. Interpret the data from the graph you made in Question 7.

Based on the graph above we can see that microbes increase more when the pH levels are
neutral. Although they can survive in other pH conditions their numbers are higher when the
medium is less alkaline and less acidic.

“EXERCISE 2: TESTABLE OBSERVATIONS

1. Fresh-baked bread develops mold more quickly than bread bought from the store.

a. Observation is quantitive.

b. Hypothesis: Fresh baked bread develops mold more quickly than bread bought
from the store because it has less preservatives.
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c. Null hypothesis: Both breads will develop mold at the same speed.

d. Experimental approach: Once homemade bread is made we can take a slice

from that and from store bought bread and leave them in the same
environment for a couple days to see which one develops mold first.

e. Independent variable: The time it takes for the mold to grow

f. Dependent variable: Preservatives

g. Positive control: cheese

h. Negative Control: new cloth

i. Data collection method: Daily observation

j. Data presentation: Video timeline as well as daily pictures

k. Data analysis: Analyzing the bread before and after for changes.

2. Sally comes to work sick; two days later, three of her coworkers are also sick.

a. Observation is quantitative

b. Hypothesis: When you are around someone that is sick continuously you have a
higher chance of getting the same illness as that person.

c. Null hypothesis: Being around someone that is sick has no effect on someone
that is not sick no matter how long you are around them.

d. Experimental approach: Have someone that is sick with covid be around a group
of people. Have half of them be with the person for one hour and the other half
be around them for four hours.
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e. Independent variable: How long they are exposed.

f. Dependent variable: Health status

g. Positive control: Increased exposure to the sick individual

h. Negative Control: one person in the group won’t have contact with the sick
person.

i. Data collection method: Observe and record the health of those in the group.

j. Data presentation: the reported and confirmed signs of illness

k. Data analysis: Compare the signs and symptoms of those that are exposed to
the individual that is sick to that of the person that does not come in contact
with the individual.

3. You accidentally left a carton of milk on the counter all night, and you notice that the milk tastes
worse than it usually does when it is stored in the refrigerator.

a. Observation is qualitative

b. Hypothesis: When milk is not refrigerated for more than an hour it will lose its
freshness

c. Null hypothesis: Milk will stay fresh no matter how long it is out of the
refrigerator

d. Experimental approach: Pour two cups of milk. Place one on the counter and
one in the fridge. Keep them there for 24 hours and then see which one is fresh.

e. Independent variable: temperature of the milk

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f. Dependent variable: freshness of milk at the start of the experiment

g. Positive control: Type of milk used

h. Negative Control:The cup the milk was stored in

i. Data collection method: record the taste of the milk at the end of the 24 hours

j. Data presentation: rate the milk on a scale of 1-5 on which one is the freshest. 1
being least and 5 being most.

k. Data analysis: the two cups of milk should be compared

EXERCISE 3: ACCURACY AND PRECISION

1. Four new students are learning how to count bacteria colonies. They all count the same plate,
and the first student counts 98 colonies, the second counts 115 colonies, the third counts 103
colonies, and the fourth counts 93 colonies. The professor tells them there are actually 107
colonies on the plate.
Both

2. You want to make sure your incubator is operating at the correct temperature of 37˚C, so you
place a thermometer inside the incubator and check it every hour for five hours. You record
readings of 36.9˚C, 36.9˚C, 37.1˚C, 37.0˚C, and 37.1˚C.
Both

3. You aren’t sure whether or not your pH meter needs to be calibrated, so you put it in a solution
that you know has a pH of 7. Take four separate readings, which are reported as 5.5, 8.6, 7.2,
and 9.4.
Neither

4. Your lab is working on sequencing a new plasmid. Before starting, you all decide to guess how
many base pairs you think the new plasmid has. The lab members’ guesses are 4,005; 4,006;
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4,007; and 4,010. It turns out the plasmid has 7,968 base pairs.
Precise

5. You try to measure out exactly 5.0 mL of water by eye into five different test tubes. When you
go back and check, you find the amount of water in each tube is 4.8 mL, 5.3 mL, 5.2 mL, 4.8 mL,
and 4.7 mL.
Both

Exercise 4: Importance of Hand Hygiene

Data Tables
Table 5: Colony Growth

Growth Day Growth Day Growth Day Growth Day Growth Day
Plate Condition
1 2 3 4 5
Hand without
1 0 + ++ ++ +++
Washing
Hand with
2 0 + + +++ ++++
Washing
3 Yeast 0 0 + + +

4 Deionized Water 0 0 0 + +

Post-Lab Questions
1. What purpose did plating the yeast serve in this experiment? What purpose did the water

serve?

water is the negative control and yeast is the positive control

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2. Which of the two hand treatments grew the most colonies?

The hand that was unwashed.

3. What effect does handwashing have on the presence of bacteria?

Handwashing is a dissuading factor for the growth of bacteria

4. Were there any colonies present on plate #2? What could account for the presence of these

colonies?

Yes, which means that although the site was clean it could still be contaminated possibly related

to hand drying.

Insert a photo of your plates after incubation. Include your name and access code handwritten in the

background of your photo.

“Lab 1 Introduction to Science BIO250L”