Makshanoff 1

Alex Makshanoff

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

31 January 2018

What Different Public Places Create the Most Growth Of Bacteria?

Introduction

There is over 200,000 individual bacteria on a single door handle, this is enough to infect

a great amount of people. Have you ever wondered what places are bacteria hot spots? My

experiment is about trying to find places with the most bacteria. I will be testing school doors

and handles for bacteria and within days will find the worst places to touch. The places I swab

will be bathroom handles and classroom along with handrails. ​I hypothesized that if I test

classroom door handles, school restroom door handles and school handrails for bacteria, then

the class room door handles will have the most bacteria.

What Factors Are Needed For Bacteria Growth?

When the bacteria grow they increase in both numbers and size. Cell division is the part

of the cycle that is known as cytokinesis. The rate they grow and divide varies depending on the

type of bacteria. Bacteria require energy to grow like food and water. They use things like sugar,

starch, proteins, fats, etc as food and energy. But in petri dishes they use agar which has most of

those things. Optimum temperature for growth is 68-85 degrees fahrenheit (Fraser).

How Long Does It Take For Bacteria To Reproduce?

Among the fastest reproducing organisms in the world. The majority double in 4-20

minutes as a majority, but some take longer. Some bacteria can kill humans. They can help us
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perform everyday functions too. Finally some are neutral and do nothing for us with our

functions. Some double rapidly which makes it hard to stop, this process is known as cancer

(Just).

How Do You Accurately Measure Bacterial Growth?

Petri dishes use a solid medium called agar to grow bacteria. Growth can be measured by

simply observing changes in how it looks with the naked eye. Most colonies can be visible after

16 hours in the dish. It is good to find ones with between 30-300 colonies for accurate results.

Number of colonies counted X dilution factor (e.g. 10^7, or 10^9 etc) X dilution factor of plating

(i.e. 10) = Number of colony forming units (CFU) per milliliter of starting culture is a common

equation for bacteria growth. Always sterilize them after use (Owyoung).

Where Does Bacteria Commonly Grow?

Different bacteria have different diets. A lot use carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. They

need water for its nutrients. 70% of bacteria is composed of water, similar to the percentage in

the human body. They also double in the right environment (Burnie). Bacteria thrive in 40-140

degrees fahrenheit. They adapt to the temperature of their environment fairly well (Taylor).

What Type Of Bacteria are Harmful To People?

Some types of bad bacteria are E. coli, Listeria, and campylobacter are bad for humans.

All of these cause illnesses. Some range from food poisoning on a severe level, to a cough. There

are also some flesh eating and skin condition causing bacteria. Some are immune to medicine,

and as a result it can cause some disease worse or even kill you on its own. Others are cured by

simply vitamins. They target vital areas of your body (10 Most).

What Benefits Does Good Bacteria Do?

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Probiotics are used to help strengthen good bacteria that lives in you. They benefit health

by safely strengthening and speeding them up. Some use them as a dietary supplement for

everyday needs. More than 80 species of good bacteria live either in you or around you. They

even fight against bad bacteria, Finally, they build your immune system (List).

Conclusion

I hypothesized that if I test classroom door handles, school restroom door handles and

school handrails for bacteria, then the class room door handles will have the most bacteria. ​As I

did this experiment I had many difficulties. First, the heat needed to be perfect so building an

incubator took a lot of time and resources. Next the first few trials had dried out agar, but i found

some that were perfect and then swabbed my three places. I put them under a reptile heat lamp

but only a few could go in at once. When I grew bacteria from these places I found that the

classroom handles had the most bacteria

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Works Cited

Burnie, David. DK Science Encyclopedia. DK, 2013. Page 313

Fraser, Angela. “Describe the Conditions Favorable to the Growth of Bacteria in Food.” Food

Safety Education | For Educators | Competencies | General | Bacteria | Describe the

Conditions Favorable to the Growth of Bacteria in Food., Clemson University, 2012,

www.foodsafetysite.com/educators/competencies/general/bacteria/bac2.html.

“Just How Fast Can Bacteria Grow?” Biological Sciences Research Highlights, Pacific

Northwest National Laboratory, 2010,

www.pnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=879.

“List of Good Bacteria.” Healthy Eating | SF Gate, SFGate,

healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-good-bacteria-7771.html.

Owyoung, Palmer. “How to Measure Bacterial Growth in Petri Dishes.” Sciencing, Leaf Group,

24 Apr. 2017, sciencing.com/measure-bacterial-growth-petri-dishes-5837896.html.

taylor, stacy. “What Three Conditions Are Ideal for Bacteria to Grow?” Sciencing, Leaf Group,

2017, sciencing.com/three-conditions-ideal-bacteria-grow-9122.html.

“10 Most Dangerous Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.” 10 Most Dangerous Antibiotic-Resistant

Bacteria | Longitude Prize, Longitude Team, 26 Aug. 2014,

longitudeprize.org/blog-post/10-most-dangerous-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria.