Moldy Bread Experiment Back To Physics Page...
Problem-
In seven days, how long will it take for three different types of bread, (White, Wheat, and Rye), to mold, and does the speed of the mold become increased if the bread is organic or non-organic?
Hypothesis-
If three different types Non-Organic and Organic breads are left out; Wheat, White, and Rye, then the Organic White Bread will mold the fastest because there is less preservatives in organic bread, and less density in White bread.
Research-
While researching about moldy bread, and experiments that have been run before, we discovered some information that could be of help to us, and understanding mold better. Molds obtain their food from extracellular digestion, and are made up of mostly water. Because molds cannot control their temperatures, they must grow, and develop based on whatever their environments temperature is. Mold grows faster on food in the summer when the temperature is warmer, rather than in the winter when’s colder and drier.
Materials List-
· 3 loaves of non-organic (white, wheat, and rye breads), 3 loaves of organic (white, wheat, and rye breads), 12 sandwich sized plastic Ziploc baggies, a roll of Paper Towels, Sharpies, Scissors, Blow Dryer, and a Ruler.
Procedure-
1) Check to make sure you have all of your materials before you start the procedure.
2) Take your twelve Ziploc Sealable Bags and insert 2 samples of each type of non-organic and organic bread slice into a separate bag each. While selecting your slice of bread, make sure you select your slices from the middle of the loaves, where the slices will be the most even. Be careful not to put any pressure, or create any damage while inserting the bread slices into the bags.
3) Using a sharpie marker, carefully, without damaging or putting any pressure on the bread, create a grid on each of your bags based on the width and the height of your pieces of bread. Then label the bag to which type of bread is in it.
In seven days, how long will it take for three different types of bread, (White, Wheat, and Rye), to mold, and does the speed of the mold become increased if the bread is organic or non-organic?
Hypothesis-
If three different types Non-Organic and Organic breads are left out; Wheat, White, and Rye, then the Organic White Bread will mold the fastest because there is less preservatives in organic bread, and less density in White bread.
Research-
While researching about moldy bread, and experiments that have been run before, we discovered some information that could be of help to us, and understanding mold better. Molds obtain their food from extracellular digestion, and are made up of mostly water. Because molds cannot control their temperatures, they must grow, and develop based on whatever their environments temperature is. Mold grows faster on food in the summer when the temperature is warmer, rather than in the winter when’s colder and drier.
Materials List-
· 3 loaves of non-organic (white, wheat, and rye breads), 3 loaves of organic (white, wheat, and rye breads), 12 sandwich sized plastic Ziploc baggies, a roll of Paper Towels, Sharpies, Scissors, Blow Dryer, and a Ruler.
Procedure-
1) Check to make sure you have all of your materials before you start the procedure.
2) Take your twelve Ziploc Sealable Bags and insert 2 samples of each type of non-organic and organic bread slice into a separate bag each. While selecting your slice of bread, make sure you select your slices from the middle of the loaves, where the slices will be the most even. Be careful not to put any pressure, or create any damage while inserting the bread slices into the bags.
3) Using a sharpie marker, carefully, without damaging or putting any pressure on the bread, create a grid on each of your bags based on the width and the height of your pieces of bread. Then label the bag to which type of bread is in it.
4) Then using the roll of paper towels, cut out 4 “in by 4”in squares and fold them neatly into a square that is 1”in by 1”in. You should come out with one paper towel square per bag.
5) Place the paper towel square, each by each, under the sink for 2 seconds then squeeze excess water out using the palms of your hands. Place the squares, one by one, into the bags with the slices of bread, making sure it doesn’t touch the slice itself. You can skip this step if you’re deadline for your experiment is longer than two weeks, if not, proceed with the paper towels to jump start the project.
6) Seal your bag shut, making sure there is no air left in bag as you seal it.
7) Place your slices of bread carefully within a dark cupboard. Line them up so you can see the labels. Make sure your slices are not on top of each other or over lapping.
6) Seal your bag shut, making sure there is no air left in bag as you seal it.
7) Place your slices of bread carefully within a dark cupboard. Line them up so you can see the labels. Make sure your slices are not on top of each other or over lapping.
8) Check on your slices of bread everyday for however long you are doing the experiment. If your experiment is due in a week or less, blow dry on hot with a hair dryer for a controlled 5 seconds. This will create more mold faster, so you can get better results!!! Good luck and enjoy the mold!
Data (link below)
Data (link below)
Moldy Bread Data Tables | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | xlsx |
Conclusion-
The purpose of this experiment was to see if White, Wheat, or Rye bread molded the fastest, and if it would affect the molding process if the bread was Non-Organic, or Organic.
For this experiment there was two slices of each type of bread, (Non-Organic and Organic), placed inside separate plastic, Ziploc bags. A square inch of damp paper towel was placed in each of the twelve plastic bags with the slices of bread to fasten the productivity of the mold. For measuring the growth of mold, each Ziploc bag had a grid placed on it. The fourth day of the experiment, each slice of bread was blow dried with a hair dryer for five seconds to create even faster results. For seven days, once a day, the mold was measured to observe its growth.
The results of the Moldy Bread Experiment were that the Non-Organic rye bread was the fastest and quickest to mold. Both Non-Organic Rye slices, compared to the other slices of bread, had the most mold on them when the experiment was completed. On the sixth day of the experiment, one of the slices of white Non-Organic bread produced one colony of mold. Between Day Six and Day Seven, the growth of mold on the Non-Organic White bread slice advanced from one colony to about two square inches of mold. The Organic Wheat bread had suddenly also sprouted nine small colonies between Day Six and Day Seven.
The hypothesis all together was incorrect. The hypothesis stated that,” If three different types Non-Organic and Organic breads are left out; Wheat, White, and Rye, then the Organic White Bread will mold the fastest because there are less preservatives in Organic bread, and less density in White bread.” Like mentioned in the paragraph above, the results were that the Non-Organic Rye bread molded the fastest. This is because even though the Non-Organic Rye bread had more preservatives than the Organic bread, the Rye had more porosity and less density than any of the other types of bread. This made the slices of Rye bread decompose faster and become more susceptible to molding quicker. The Organic breads did not mold faster because of how thick their density was, plus the porosity was lower within the slices of bread.
A couple errors that could be accounted for within this experiment were the method of measurement and the controlled variables. Hypothetically, there is supposed to be only one controlled variable in an experiment, and in this experiment there were two; the type of bread,(White, Wheat, and Rye), and if the bread was Non-Organic or Organic. Having two controlled variables make the experiment more complicated and challenging than it probably should have been. The method of measurement used in the Moldy Bread Experiment was incorrect in that the data was measured in three different ways; colonies, percentage, and inches². This method of measurement is not manageable because the data cannot be compared to itself easily.
Two ways to improve this experiment if it was to be tested again was to decide on only one controlled variable instead of two, this way the data and the experiment itself would be more easy to handle. A second way to improve this experiment would be by creating the method of measuring in a way that the data was only measured in one way, instead of three. That way the data can be compared more easily and the experiment in the long run will be more successful.
The purpose of this experiment was to see if White, Wheat, or Rye bread molded the fastest, and if it would affect the molding process if the bread was Non-Organic, or Organic.
For this experiment there was two slices of each type of bread, (Non-Organic and Organic), placed inside separate plastic, Ziploc bags. A square inch of damp paper towel was placed in each of the twelve plastic bags with the slices of bread to fasten the productivity of the mold. For measuring the growth of mold, each Ziploc bag had a grid placed on it. The fourth day of the experiment, each slice of bread was blow dried with a hair dryer for five seconds to create even faster results. For seven days, once a day, the mold was measured to observe its growth.
The results of the Moldy Bread Experiment were that the Non-Organic rye bread was the fastest and quickest to mold. Both Non-Organic Rye slices, compared to the other slices of bread, had the most mold on them when the experiment was completed. On the sixth day of the experiment, one of the slices of white Non-Organic bread produced one colony of mold. Between Day Six and Day Seven, the growth of mold on the Non-Organic White bread slice advanced from one colony to about two square inches of mold. The Organic Wheat bread had suddenly also sprouted nine small colonies between Day Six and Day Seven.
The hypothesis all together was incorrect. The hypothesis stated that,” If three different types Non-Organic and Organic breads are left out; Wheat, White, and Rye, then the Organic White Bread will mold the fastest because there are less preservatives in Organic bread, and less density in White bread.” Like mentioned in the paragraph above, the results were that the Non-Organic Rye bread molded the fastest. This is because even though the Non-Organic Rye bread had more preservatives than the Organic bread, the Rye had more porosity and less density than any of the other types of bread. This made the slices of Rye bread decompose faster and become more susceptible to molding quicker. The Organic breads did not mold faster because of how thick their density was, plus the porosity was lower within the slices of bread.
A couple errors that could be accounted for within this experiment were the method of measurement and the controlled variables. Hypothetically, there is supposed to be only one controlled variable in an experiment, and in this experiment there were two; the type of bread,(White, Wheat, and Rye), and if the bread was Non-Organic or Organic. Having two controlled variables make the experiment more complicated and challenging than it probably should have been. The method of measurement used in the Moldy Bread Experiment was incorrect in that the data was measured in three different ways; colonies, percentage, and inches². This method of measurement is not manageable because the data cannot be compared to itself easily.
Two ways to improve this experiment if it was to be tested again was to decide on only one controlled variable instead of two, this way the data and the experiment itself would be more easy to handle. A second way to improve this experiment would be by creating the method of measuring in a way that the data was only measured in one way, instead of three. That way the data can be compared more easily and the experiment in the long run will be more successful.
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