1) Research what mold is. Identify healthy and unhealthy molds. Have a discussion about penicillin and Madame Currie. Learn about food and bacteria and how food breaks down. Hypothesize on which of your food choices will grow mold the fastest. Which of these foods will grow mold that creates penicillin? What happens when you put the foods in different environments?2) Prepare three bags of each food in a separate ziplock bag (e.g., three bags of coffee, three bags of bread, etc.)
3) With your Q-tips, gather dust from an undusted piece of furniture and place a swab worth of dust on each piece of food.
4) Add 5-6 drops of water to each bag to create moisture. (Is moisture important for mold growth?)
5) Place each food type in direct sunlight.
6) Place each food type in the refrigerator.
7) Place each food type in a dark closet.
8) Each day, make your observations in your logbook.
9) Continue for 2-3 weeks. What is happening? What food grows mold the fastest, does the environment (light and temperature) affect mold growth? Are molds all the same color? Can you identify the mold that makes penicillin?
10) Create a graph that charts the rate of growth in the three separate environments. With colored pencils, graph your recordings based on the color of molds produced.
Pregnancy
